CLAREMONT, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton men's water polo secured two victories on Day One of the Gary Troyer Invitational against Ottawa University Arizona (18-17) and McKendree (13-7). The Titans head into Day Two undefeated and improve to 12-7 on the season.Â
Cal State Fullerton 18, Ottawa University Arizona 17
Togan Ozbek (2),
Julian Nichols and
Bende Aubeli created a rally, giving the Titans a 4-0 lead over the Spirit by the first quarter's 5:34 mark.Â
Ottawa was able to get one goal back but was met by
Dominic Hernandez and Ozbek, who added two more goals for the Titans.Â
After the first eight minutes, the Titans had a 7-5 edge over the Spirit. Ottawa did not let Fullerton win easily, keeping it within a handful of goals.Â
Nichols,
Jacob Hatch and Hernandez added three more to the board in the second quarter, breaking double digits before the break. At halftime, the Titans had a 10-7 lead over Ottawa and two hat tricks awarded to Ozbek and Hernandez.Â
In a back-and-forth scoring frenzy after the break, Fullerton found themselves ahead, 14-9, with goals from Hatch, Hernandez,
Aaron Ayala and
Francisco Paredes.Â
Ottawa found slight momentum in the final quarter, forcing the Titans to continue fighting until the end. Hernandez scored six goals, his last finding the net with 4:38 on the clock.Â
A bookend play secured the 18-17 victory over the Spirit for the Titans as Aubeli backhanded a pass from Ozbek into the opposite corner of the goal.Â
Cal State Fullerton 13, McKendree 7Â
Aubeli beat all players to the net after three minutes for a 1-0 lead. Hatch drew a penalty foul that sent Ozbek to the five-meter line. Ozbek capitalized on the foul on behalf of Hatch for a 2-0 edge.Â
Ewing showed off his release-angle arsenal, depositing back-to-back goals under and over the goalie's arm for a 4-1 lead.Â
At the half, The Titans held a 10-3 lead over McKendree, whose defense proved strong in the second half.Â
Aubeli scored the first Fullerton goal of the third quarter with 1:53 on the clock before Ewing skipped a ball into the back corner for a 12-4 edge with 33 seconds remaining.Â
Ayala's power-play goal remained the only Fullerton goal in the fourth quarter. McKendree was able to add three more goals before the final buzzer but fell short. The Titans won Game Two, 13-7.Â
The Titans wrap up the Gary Troyer Invitational with two games on Saturday before heading into Big West play. They face Cal Lutheran at 10:20 a.m. and La Verne at 3:40 p.m.Â
WATCH THE TITANS ON ESPN+
Titans fans can now watch every home event exclusively on ESPN+. Cal State Fullerton has built a top-tier production studio to give the viewers an ESPN quality production for all games at Titan Stadium. Additionally, all schools in the Big West Conference are committed to producing ESPN quality streams which will allow fans to watch the Titans on ESPN+ for all road conference games.
FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans) Instagram (@FullertonTitans). In addition, the water polo teams have established their own Twitter (@Fullerton_WP) and Instagram accounts (@Fullerton_WP).
Â
