FRESNO, Calif. — Fresno Pacific men's water polo celebrated three seniors Tuesday evening, honoring Joey Brocar, Chase Hammes and Nathaniel Tuell before taking on Merced College in an exhibition matchup. The Sunbirds set the tone early and carried their momentum throughout the contest, earning a 14-6 victory.
Tristin Fox got the Sunbirds rolling with two goals in the opening minute to give FPU a 2-0 lead. Yanti Quijada patiently worked past the five-meter mark in a one-on-one opportunity with the goalkeeper to extend the advantage to 3-0, and Jordan Lambert found the top corner for a fourth goal. Merced answered late in the first period, but the 'Birds carried a 4-1 lead into the second.
The Blue Devils opened the second period with a power-play goal to cut the deficit to two. Tuell responded with a shot that skipped past the goalkeeper, adding to the celebration with a goal on senior day. Fox then completed his hat trick to push FPU's lead to 6-2 before freshman Jesse Bryan converted a penalty shot. Fox added his fourth goal, and Giacomo Hernandez slipped another shot past the keeper to give the Sunbirds a 9-2 advantage. Merced scored twice late in the half to make it 9-4 at the break.
After a scoreless start to the third period, senior Joey Brocar broke through with a goal at the 4:23 mark. Brocar struck again after a steal, going one-on-one with the goalkeeper and lifting the ball over him to extend the Sunbirds' lead to 11-4. Fresno Pacific maintained control down the stretch to secure the 14-6 win.
As the clock wound down, the Sunbirds rallied around senior goalkeeper Hammes, hoping to see him launch one final shot from the cage and add a memorable close to the senior day celebration.
UP NEXT: The Sunbirds head up the 99 to compete in a conference match against UC Merced on Saturday, October 31st at 1pm.
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