SAN JOSE, Calif. - Sam Keightley scored five goals on the day, surpassing 100 in his career, to lead the San José State men's water polo team (6-8, 0-0 WCC) in a tight 13-12 overtime loss against No. 13 UC Santa Barbara (17-8, 0-0 Big West) on Saturday morning from the SRAC.
The Spartans trailed early, falling behind 6-3 by halftime. In the third quarter, the Spartans began clawing back with goals from Samu Biros, Giancarlo Marquez and S. Keightley, cutting the deficit to one at the end of the period. The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth battle where S. Keightley and Aron Sárfalvi each scored to tie the game twice. S. Keightley also delivered the Spartans their first lead of the game wth a goal in the third minute, puttung SJSU up 10-9. UC Santa Barbara answered to tie it and then retook the lead, but with three seconds left, Biros found the back of the net to even the score at 11-11 and force overtime.
The Gauchos led the Spartans 2-1 across two overtime periods. Aidan Johnson tied it in the second period before UC Santa Barbara scored the decisive goal, escaping with the 13-12 win.
- S. Keightley led the offense with five goals, while Biros added four. Marquez, Johnson and Sárfalvi each scored one.
- Mitchell Keightley and S. Keightley each dished out three assists.
- S. Keightley also paced the defense with four kickouts drawn.
- Alexey Poletaev made seven saves through the first three quarters before Stellan Karkazis took over in net, adding three saves the rest of the way.
UP NEXT: The Spartans open WCC play against No. 8 University of the Pacific at the SRAC on Friday, Oct. 9, at noon. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
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