Men's water polo defeats No. 3 UOP. Aggies face UOP in the quarterfinals of the NCAA championship today. I will not be able to watch the game but I have seen the team play this year in person and through streaming.
This team has an excellent chance to make the semi-finals this year.
The Aggies in my opinion are greater than the sum of their parts. Coach Leyson has taken the typical formula of having California players with a sprinkling of international players. He has had Spaniard, Canadian, New Zealanders to round out his squad. The Aggies have had stronger individual players in the past and some super stars in the recent and far past, but this year's squad has shown toughness and grit playing at their highest level when facing the best teams in the county. I was very impressed by their 1 goal loss to #1` ranked UCLA at Westwood. The Bruins led by 1 at the end of the 1st quarter, half time and 3rd quarter. The Aggies never went away but fought and scraped every possession of the game This is very impressive because of the physical demands of the game.
As for today;s game I believe the Aggies will win in a close one. The Tigers whined about the officiating last time, but the game was called true . It seems to me that they were hoping for a handful of bail-out calls which they did not get. The Tigers have reached the finals and have a history of talented international players who are used to playing under pressure and in important games. I call the Aggies to win. The edge being that for most of the UCD players this tournament will be the pinnacle of their polo career.