FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton men's water polo secured two wins on Day One of the Titan Invitational against Austin College (17-4) and Air Force (14-13) after battling through four overtime quarters. Titans improve to 8-5 on the season.Â
Cal State Fullerton 17, Austin College 4
The Titans showcased an impressive defensive run to start their Titan Invitational, jumping to a 12-0 lead over the Kangaroos at the break.
Bende Aubeli put away four goals in the first 16 minutes of play, scoring the game's first goal.Â
Julian Nichols,
Zack Ewing (penalty goal),
Togan Ozbek,
Nico D'Angelo (3),
Ethan Cooney and
Tony Benedetti assisted in this 12-0 run.Â
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D'Angelo and Benedetti put away two goals after faking out Austin's goalie to send the game into halftime.Â
The Titans added five goals to the board in the second half to run away with a 13-goal lead.Â
Garrett Henderson (4 SV),
Seth Zarn (2 G, 4 SV) and
Cy Hammerstrom (2 G, 2 SV) tag-teamed an impressive 10 saves, allowing only four goals to count against the Titans.Â
Cal State Fullerton 14, Air Force 13 (4 OT)
In their second meeting this season, the Titans and Falcons battled through four overtime quarters before the Titans called game on the five-meter-attempt.Â
Julian Nichols got the Titans their first goal with a five-meter shot to even the score. With 35 seconds left in the first quarter,
Tony Benedetti evened the score with a powerful shot into the net.Â
Down one in the second quarter,
Jacob Hatch scored on a skipper with the help of
Dominic Hernandez.Â
The Titans entered halftime tied at 7-7. Nichols regained the lead for the Titans, but Air Force took the lead back once again. With one second remaining in the third, D'Angelo dented the twine, evening the score at 9-9.Â
Hatch scored on a penalty shot in the last quarter of regulation to shorten the Air Force lead. Fullerton scored with 10 seconds on the clock to send the teams into overtime. After a set of back-and-forth overtime attempts, the Titans secured the win on a penalty shot from
Nico D'Angelo to secure the win over Air Force, 14-13.Â
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Day Two of the Titan Invitational resumes on Saturday morning. The Titans face Biola at 10:30 a.m. before ending the tournament against Claremont McKenna at 5:00 p.m.Â
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