Sept. 25, 2012

The Last Meeting #11 UC San Diego 6 Loyola Marymount 10 September 16, 2012 Stanford, CA Split Gives Lions Tenth The 10th-ranked LMU men's water polo team finished the 2012 NorCal Invitational with a split in the final day of play on Sunday, defeating Western Water Polo Association rival and 11th-ranked UC San Diego, 10-6, before falling to No. 9 Long Beach State, 9-7. The Lions finished the loaded tournament in 10th place. Recap | Box Score

The Last Meeting Loyola Marymount 7 #8 Pepperdine 8 September 8, 2012 Malibu, CA Comeback a Tenth of a Second Short The Wells Fargo PCH Cup rivalry between LMU and Pepperdine continues to grow as for the third time in four meetings the men's water polo match-up would come down to the final seconds - this one coming down to within a tenth of a second. Freshman Milutin Mitrovic attempted a tip-in of senior Robert Pusic's shot at the buzzer, but it was just a tick late, falling to the Waves, 8-7, at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool in Malibu on Saturday afternoon. Recap | Photo Gallery

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LOS ANGELES -- It will be a stretch of rivals for the 10th-ranked LMU men's water polo team as they will play five games on the week. The first two in that stretch will be its biggest rivals as the Lions will travel to UC San Diego on Wednesday, Sept. 26 and will then open the four-game SoCal Tournament with No. 7 Pepperdine on Saturday, Sept. 29.

Since 1999, LMU and UC San Diego have played each other at least twice a season with the two Western Water Polo Association rivals meeting to decide the WWPA championship eight times. They will meet again in La Jolla on Wednesday, Sept. 26 at 6 p.m. This will be the eighth straight year the Lions will travel to UCSD for a night game. The 11th-ranked Tritons will return the favor when they come to the Burns Aquatics Center on Saturday, Oct. 20.

The teams have met once already this season, with the Lions winning 10-6 at the NorCal Invitational on Sept. 16.

Following the trip south, the Lions will head to Santa Barbara for the 2012 SoCal Tournament, the second of the two invitationals that include the best teams in the nation. The Lions finished the NorCal Invite in 10th place and will open the SoCal Tournament with yet another meeting with a rival, Pepperdine.

The Lions will take on the Waves at 9:20 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 29. The Waves defeated the Lions, 8-7, in a game that went down to the buzzer. LMU is in Group B of the SoCals with UCLA and Santa Clara. All 16 teams in the field were ranked as of Sept. 19.

Freshman Milutin Mitrovic continues to lead the Lions in goals, scoring four in the win over Pomona-Pitzer last Saturday to give him 19 in his first season. Junior John Mikuzis continues to play well, sitting second on the squad with 12 goals. Joe Ferretti and Matt Stipanovich have seven goals each, with Ferretti adding team-highs with 12 steals and five field blocks.

Follow the Lions at the SoCal Tournament through Tourney Central.

- GO LIONS -