Claremont, Calif. – The Notre Dame men's water polo team went (2-3) this weekend at the Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament.

Friday, October 4^th was NDC's first day of competition. The Falcons (5-7) had two games, facing NCAA Division II Fresno Pacific University, and later in the afternoon facing California Institute of Technology.

Notre Dame played well with a good offensive tempo, but ultimately lost their first match, 11-9; to the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds.It was a seesaw battle that ultimately tilted the Sunbirds way after a late fourth quarter surge.

The Falcons used the disappointing loss to propel them to a 16-7 win over Cal Tech. Back-to-back quarters outscoring the Beavers (5-1) to open the game allowed the Falcons to play with ease and execute on both offense and defense.

Blake Winant, John Booth, Vladimir Bokun, Vanja Kopilas, Nikola Mihajlovic and Milan Burkius all scored twice for Notre Dame, while Jonathan Cubillos, Nick Walz, Dylan Dykes and Petar Djurakovic also added goals in the win.

Istvan Cseh put together a solid game between the pipes, tallying 9 saves.

Saturday's first game of the day pitted the Falcons against NCAA Division III Occidental College. The Tigers were hungry for their first win of the season, after coming close to tasting victory in multiple matches earlier in the year.

NDC however, countered with a steady defense and clutch goals when they needed them to spark the Falcons to a 9-8 win.

Notre Dame faced D-III Claremount McKenna College in the nightcap. The Falcons fell into an early hole, down 6-1 after the first quarter. NDC turned it around in the second-quarter, outscoring CMS 4-3. Milan Burkus scored two of his three goals in the second-quarter, helping the Falcons pull to within 4 (9-5) at halftime.

But, the first quarter deficit proved to be too much for Notre Dame. Vanja Kopilas found the back of the net twice, while Jonathan Cubillos and Nikola Mihaljovic each added a goal.

The University of La Verne Leopards were the final match for the Falcons on their road trip out west. It was a thrilling game to say the least.

Led by Jonathan Cubillos' 3 first quarter goals, Notre Dame jumped out to a 6-1 opening stanza lead. 

From then on, La Verne chipped away at the Notre Dame lead quarter by quarter. Entering the fourth quarter, The Falcons led the
Leopards by just one goal (13-12). 

The Leopards scored two quick goals in the first-quarter to gain the lead. Notre Dame tied the game with five-minutes left. La Verne then scored twice in the next minute to put the Falcons away. After a NDC goal at the end of the game, the Falcons fell by the final score of 17-16.

Notre Dame will travel to Erie, Pa. on Saturday to take on the Lakers of Mercyhurst in a CWPA match that begins at noon.