SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton men's water polo extended their win streak to six games in a 17-10 win over UC Merced before falling to No. 12 UC Santa Barbara, 13-8, on Saturday. The Titans stand 15-8 overall and 0-1 in Big West play. 

Cal State Fullerton 17, UC Merced 10

Bende Aubeli (2 G) deposited the game's first goal with help from Julian Nichols (2 G, 3 A) for an early 1-0 lead over UC Merced. The Titans extended their lead over the Bobcats, 2-0, halfway through the first quarter as Togan Ozbek (3 G, 1 A) capitalized on a five-meter penalty drawn by Jacob Hatch. 

UC Merced answered back to even the score 2-2, but Alec Isaacman (3 G) collected his 15th goal of the season on a pass from Francisco Paredes (3 G, 1 A) to regain the lead with two minutes to spare. Hatch (2 G) found the last goal of the first quarter to double Fullerton's lead, 4-2, at the end of the first quarter. 

Fullerton continued to outscore UC Merced in the second quarter with goals from Ozbek, Nichols (2), Paredes and Isaacman. The Titans entered halftime with a 9-5 edge over the Bobcats.

After the break, Ozbek and Hatch wasted no time adding two more to the board. Up 11-5, Ethan Cooney turned on a pass from Nico D'Angelo for a 12-5 lead. By the end of the third quarter, the Titans led 14-8, one quarter away from their 15th win of the season. 

Paredes took care of scoring the 15th goal with 6:53 left on the clock. Isaacman and Shelby Johnson matched UC Mered's two goals in the fourth quarter to secure the 17-10 victory. 

No. 12 UC Santa Barbara 13, Cal State Fullerton 8

After finding themselves down 4-0, Dominic Hernandez put the Titans on the board on a power-play with 30 seconds left in the first quarter. 

Hernandez found the back of the net for a second time in the second quarter on a pass from Isaacman. The power-play goal came almost a minute after a Fullerton timeout in an effort to slowly chip away at a 7-2 deficit before the break. 

After two quarters of play, the Gauchos held an 8-2 lead over the Titans. UC Santa Barbara added four more goals in the third quarter before Hatch deposited a shot from Nichols. 

The Titans were not giving up on their comeback pursuit as Hernandez grabbed his third goal with over a minute left in the third quarter. Fullerton headed into the final eight minutes trailing 13-4. 

Shelby Johnson and Hernandez tag-teamed two goals, one on a power-play, in under 45 seconds to trail 13-6. Nico D'Angelo fed off the momentum with a shot fed from Nichols to bring the game within six goals, 13-7. 

Fullerton continued fighting through the end as Hatch brought the game within five goals (13-8) on an assist from Ozbek with three minutes remaining, which became finalized at the buzzer.  

The Titans return home to face their second conference competitor, UC San Diego, at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13. 

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