Nov. 23, 2003

Santa Barbara, Calif. - UC Santa Barbara beat Pacific 10-3 in the 2003 MPSF Tournament play-in game, hosted by UCSB. The win improves Santa Barbara's overall record to 13-15 and earns the Gauchos a trip to Belmont Plaza in Long Beach to face No. 1 USC as part of the 2003 MPSF Men's Water Polo Tournament.

Senior Steve Traverso got the Gauchos on track early in the first quarter when he ripped a shot past Pacific goalkeeper Tom Markel, giving UCSB a 1-0 lead. Senior Doug Arthur also found the back of the net in the first and UCSB ended the quarter with a 2-1 advantage.

Santa Barbara opened up more of a lead in the second quarter as junior Brian Alexander warmed up, finding the back of the net twice. Defensively, Gaucho goalkeeper Rick Wright made two spectacular saves as well. Facing a point black shot by Tiger Eddie Wisniewski, Wright managed to deflect the ball outside the far post, only to have Wisniewski recover and fire another shot. This time Wright corralled the ball and earned possession for Santa Barbara. On the ensuing play, sophomore Andrew Schoneberger scored to give the Gauchos a 5-2 lead going into halftime.

UCSB put the game out of reach once the third quarter got underway as five different Gauchos scored, increasing the lead to 10-2. Traverso tallied his second goal of the day to start the flurry, then freshmen Matt Dale and Matt Tilburg, sophomore Ian Christensen, and Alexander all scored to finish out the run.

Pacific's leading scorer Eddie Wisniewski scored a lat e goal as time ran out but in the end it was all Santa Barbara.

Freshman goalkeeper Rick Wright made seven saves on the afternoon and junior keeper Mike Hoy recorded one.

UC Santa Barbara now travels to the Belmont Plaza in Long Beach to face the No. 1 team in the nation, USC. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 28. The winner will move on to face either Cal or Long Beach State the following day.

UCSB Scoring - Alexander-3, Traverso-2, Schoneberger-1, Arthur-1, Tilburg-1, Dale-1, Christensen-1 Pacific Scoring - Wisniewski-1, E. Akerman-1, Gonzalez-1 UCSB Goalkeeping - Wright - 7 saves, Hoy -1 save Pacific Goalkeeping - Markel - 7 saves