LA JOLLA, Calif. — Cal State Fullerton men's water polo wrapped up the Triton Invitational with losses to No. 2 Cal and No. 13 Pepperdine Sunday. The results move the Titans to 1-3 on the season.
Titans 9, No. 2 Cal 19
No. 2 Cal jumped out to a 4-0 lead early in the opening period, with three scores coming on the power play. Julian Nichols got the Titans on the board near the end of the first, while Togan Ozbek and Nico D'Angelo added scores in the second. But the Golden Bears led 9-3 at the break.
Zack Ewing and Reese Starkey each found the back of the net in the second half, bringing the score to 15-6 for Cal. The Golden Bears then scored four straight before Aaron Ayala netted back-to-back goals near the end of the fourth. Bradley Pearce added a goal with 1:34 to go, but Cal came away with the 19-9 win.
Titans 7, No. 13 Pepperdine 23
Teams traded points to start the match, with Ozbek netting one early to tie things at 1-1. Pepperdine then scored three straight before a Nichols score followed by an Ozbek goal from the penalty mark made it 4-3 for the Waves. D'Angelo added another score for the Titans, but Pepperdine took a 13-4 lead at the half.
Francisco Paredes, Ewing and Domnic Hernandez each scored in the second half for the Titans. But the Waves came away with the 23-7 win.
Up next, Fullerton hosts the Titan Invitational next weekend, Sept. 13-14. The Titans will take on Chapman and Air Force on day one of the tournament before facing Cal Lutheran and Concordia Irvine on Sept. 14.
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