Photography by LifeScapes Photographic Arts©

September 10, 2011
FRESNO PACFIC UNIVERSITY

ARC traveled to Fresno Pacific University for the season opener on Saturday. The Beavers played a good first half trailing 8-5 after 2 periods. The 3rd quarter was marred with early season turnovers and offensive mistakes that lead to easy scores by FPU. The team settled down in the 4th quarter but lost 18-8. "I am pleased with some of the things we did early in the game, conditioning and cohesiveness will improve with time"

September 15-17, 2011
CUESTA COLLEGE INVITATIONAL

 9/15 - In the first of 6 games over the weekend of September 15-17 the Men's water polo team faced State runner up Golden West at 12:45 at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo. ARC played well catching the Rustlers a little off balance in the first few minutes of the game. Sophomore goalie Ryan Hitzler made a couple of key blocks to keep the score close early. Midway through the 2nd quarter the Golden West counter attack took over the game and they separated from ARC and led 8-3 at half. "They are very fast and very deep, we have to be perfect to play with them and while we played well we need to improve."

 9/15 - Under the lights ARC played Concordia University B coached by former ARC All American and all-time leading scorer, Jure Belamarich. ARC got going early with goals by sophomores Adam Donovan and Andras Kovacs. As the game progressed however it was sophomore goalie Ryan Hitzler that was the difference. "This was a break out game for Ryan." Hitzler registered 12 saves in the game that the Beavers won 11-7.

 9/16 - In the first game of the Cuesta tournament ARC drew #7 ranked Riverside Community College. The game was a see saw battle with each team taking runs and sharing the lead. ARC jumped out to an early 2-0 lead only to be down 4-2 at the quarter. After 2 the score was 7-5 Riverside. The Beavers came roaring back in the 3rd and 4th and finally took a lead for the first time at 12-11 with less than 2 minutes to play. RCC scored the game tying goal a few moments after ARC had taken the lead and took the lead for good at :38 in the game winning 13-12. "That was a game we should have won, we gave up goals at the end of each quarter that kept them energized".

 9/16 - Playing the 2nd game against host Cuesta in the final game on Friday proved to be a very competitive game. "I told my team we were down 3 before the game starts and we would have to play through some officiating that will favor the home team." Both teams played physical and at times rough game. "This was a typical ARC Cuesta game..both teams played physical water polo, lots of grabbing and guys getting a little chippy" ARC scored first but fell behind 2-1 at the end of 1. The team gave up a couple of goals late in the 2nd to trail 6-4. Cuesta scored a couple of goals to go up 4 in the middle of the 3rd. ARC rallied to make it a 3 goal game at the end of the 3rd. Cuesta went up 11-6 with 2 minutes to play and the final score ended up 13-8 as each teams subs finished up the game.

 9/17 - The early 7:00 am game was against Ventura College. ARC got up and stayed up on the Pirates from the start. "We practice at 6:00 am 2 days a week so we can be effective in these early games". The team was led by Andras Kovacs and Santiago Rodriguez, with each scoring 3 goals. ARC won 11-7 but held a 10-2 lead midway through the 3rd quarter. "We beat VC last year on a last second overtime goal, but this one was more enjoyable"

 9/17 - ARC played Concordia B again in the final game of the tournament. The game was sloppy and poorly played due to fatigue by both teams. ARC did enough to win again 11-8. 

September 21, 2011
ARC vs. Sierra College

ARC opened its 2011 Big 8 Conference schedule with a win over cross town rival, Sierra College. The Beavers came out motivated and cohesive opening up a 4-1 first quarter lead. Adam Donovan and Andre Camilleri scored for ARC and Santiago Rodriguez drew 2 ejections at center. Ryan Hitzler made a couple of early blocks to set the tempo on defense. The Beavers were up 7-1 at 3:35 of the 2nd before Sierra started a comeback making it a 7-3 game with 1:20 to play in the 2nd. However Ryan Hitzler blocked a 5 meter penalty throw and ARC scored at the other end securing an 8-3 half time lead and killing the Sierra momentum. "We played a solid 1st half and took advantage of our size in the middle by drawing ejections and getting guys the ball where they can attack". The 2nd half was controlled by ARC as they used a balanced attack of good center play, ball control on offense and timely shooting. "I am pleased over all with how we played. We have a ton of room for improvement and the guys are excited about our season. We will see Sierra again and I am sure it will be a much more competitive game." 

September 23, 2011
UC, DAVIS - AGGIE SHOOT-OUT 

The Beavers played another 4 year University program Friday night under the lights at UC Davis. The Cal Baptist Lancers were in town to play UCD and invited the ARC team to play the CBU B team. ARC lost 10-5 but everyone played extensive minutes and contributed to the team effort. ARC jumped to an early 2-0 lead only to be down at half 5-l. The team recovered and played better in the 3rd quarter making it a 7-5 game going into the 4th. CBU had too much experience and depth and pulled away from ARC for the win. "It was good experience for us, big pool, big crowd, and a good team..I like where we are headed."

September 28, 2011
ARC vs. San Joaquin Delta 

ARC men defeated visiting Delta College 17-3 in a Big 8 Conference game at ARC. The team got off to strong first half with multiple goals from sophomore Andras Kovacs and freshman center Santiago Rodriguez. The team lead 8-1 at the half. "We played well enough to allow a number of our bench players significant minutes in the second half. I enjoyed being able to play everyone extended minutes in the game". 

October 5, 2011
ARC vs. UC, Davis Club

The Beavers lost a close game on a cool Wednesday night under the lights with visiting UC Davis Club 11-10. ARC got up 3-1 early but found themselves down 8-5 in the 3rd before a rally tied the score at 8-8. Davis went ahead 11-9 with 2 minutes to play in the 4th before ARC cut it to 11-10. The team had a couple of last second attempts but were knocked down by the Davis goalie. "The difference in the game was how poorly we shot the ball in high percentage shooting situations. You cannot miss 2 on 1 opportunities and expect to win close games." 

October 7 - 8, 2011
ARC Tournament

10/7/11 - ARC played at home this weekend hosting 7 college programs from as far away as Pennsylvania. On Friday at 10 am the team played against Mt. San Antonio College from southern California. ARC got off to a quick start and led 8-2 at half. However this game was far from over Mt. SAC rallied to score 5 goals in the second half while shutting down the ARC shooters. "We generated a lot of offense but did not convert in high percentage shooting opportunities". 

10/7/11 - In the second game of the day ARC played against the Penn State Nittany Lions. This was the first trip ever for PSU to the West Coast for water polo. The PSU team played a very solid first half and led 3-2. "In 26 years of coaching I cannot recall 32 minutes where we scored 2 goals and won 2 games." The previous game had resulted in zero second half goals by ARC, and in the first half of their second game they scored twice. "That was very odd considering we won both games." The team settled down and pulled ahead early in the 3rd period on goals by Adam Donovan and Santiago Rodriguez. Goalkeeper Ryan Hitzler made 5 blocks that slowed PSU and ignited the ARC offense. The team eventually won 9-5.

10/8/11 - In the teams 3rd game the Beavers appeared much more focused and determined. "We jumped on them early and didn't let up". The opponent, CSU Cal Maritime, was held scoreless until late in the 2nd period. With the team up 10-2 in the middle of the 3rd coach Eric Black made a full team substitution. The second unit played well and finished the CMA team off with goals by Pat McCoy and Greg Bedford.

10/8/11 - As the team prepared for the 4th game it was clear they were ready to play and hosted UC Davis club in a rematch of the pervious Wednesdays' night game. "We did not play well a few days before and lost by 1. I told the team we needed to play great defense and put the ball away when opportunities presented themselves".

Santiago Rodriguez got off early at center scoring 2 live time goals from center. Adam Donovan the team's second center drew a couple of quick ejections on one of their primary defenders forcing an early substitution by Davis. The team led 6-2 at half and kept the pressure on beating Dais 11-6. "We played a complete game and showed toughness in the 2nd half. I was pleased with our effort."

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