MWP | Hachem Scores Four as No. 20 Gaels Fall in Hard-Fought 15-11 Battle with No. 11 Pacific

Saturday, October 17

Moraga, CA

1:00 PM

Saint Mary's College of California

Pacific

Highlights Box Score

Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner

MWP | Hachem Scores Four as No. 20 Gaels Fall in Hard-Fought 15-11 Battle with No. 11 Pacific

10/17/2026 4:32:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

MORAGA, Calif. — Coming off of its first West Coast Conference victory in program history, the No. 20 Saint Mary's men's water polo team put together another competitive performance on Saturday afternoon, battling No. 11 Pacific before ultimately falling 15-11. The Gaels led for much of the matchup and remained within striking distance late in the game, but a six-goal fourth quarter from the Tigers proved to be the difference. Leo Hachem led the Gaels offensively with four goals, while Hamish Ellison and Domenico Barillà each added a brace.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Saint Mary's came out strong in the opening quarter, building on the momentum from Friday's historic 16-10 victory over Air Force. Hamish Ellison got things started with the opening goal of the contest, before Harry Irwin and Leo Hachem followed with goals of their own. Freshman Ethan Klerck added the Gaels' fourth goal of the quarter to give Saint Mary's an early 4-1 advantage over the Tigers. Pacific opened the scoring in the second quarter, but Domenico Barillà, coming off of a career-high four-assist performance against Air Force, found the back of the net for the Gaels. Hachem followed with his second goal of the afternoon, but the Tigers responded with a strong offensive push to even the score at 6-6 heading into halftime.

Pacific struck first coming out of the break, but Barillà responded with his second goal of the afternoon to secure his second consecutive brace and the fourth of his career. Jacob Carlson followed with a goal of his own before Hachem completed a hat trick with his third goal of the contest. The Gaels matched the Tigers with three goals in the quarter to head into the final eight minutes tied at 9-9. Hachem got the Gaels started in the fourth quarter with his fourth goal of the matchup, while Ellison followed with his second goal to secure a brace. The Gaels continued to battle closely with the No. 11 Tigers, but Pacific found its rhythm offensively in the final quarter, scoring six goals to pull ahead. In a final push to close the gap, Saint Mary's pulled goalkeeper Federico Castrucci from the goal to add an extra attacker in the closing minutes, but Pacific ultimately secured the 15-11 victory.

GAME NOTES

Domenico Barillà recorded his second consecutive brace and fourth of his career, finishing with two goals and an assist against Pacific.
Hamish Ellison recorded his third consecutive brace, added an assist, and two sprint wins against Pacific. Ellison is also tied for third in the WCC with 15 sprint wins this season.
Leo Hachem led the Gaels with four goals against Pacific and is now tied for ninth in the WCC in goals scored with 36.
Harry Irwin has now recorded 12 field blocks this season which ties him for second in the WCC and sixth nationally.
Federico Castrucci ranks second in the WCC with 25 steals and sixth with 78 saves after recording three steals and four saves today.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Gaels will return to action next week at the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament and will kick off the weekend against Bucknell in the teams' third meeting of the season. The matchup is set for Friday, October 23 at 10 a.m. at the Sullivan Aquatic Center in Santa Clara.

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