LOS ANGELES, Calif.-  The 7th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team defeated 19th-ranked Redlands 9-3 and will aim for its 14th WWPA title against Loyola Marymount on Saturday, November 19 at 3:00 p.m.  The winner qualifies for the NCAA Final Four to be played in Lewisburg, Penn.  Jonathan Hopkins scored three times while Chris Eichholz added two goals.  The win improved the Tritons to 24-7, the most wins in school history.  The previous record was set by the 1992 UCSD squad (23-9). 

UCSD scored the only goals of the first quarter on strikes by Hopkins (4:23) and Adnan Jerkovic (1:18) to lead 2-0 after one.

In the second quarter, Hopkins netted his second goal at 5:43, giving UCSD the 3-0 lead.  Redlands scored its first goal with 5:20 left.  Eichholz then scored with 2:53 left to give the Tritons the 4-1 lead at halftime.

The Tritons put the game out of distance in the third, as Hopkins scored with 4:28 left for the 5-1 lead.  After a Redlands goal with 2:15 left, Brandon Borso (1:52) and Chris Finegold (1:05) each scored within a one-minute stretch, giving the Tritons a 7-2 lead, heading into the fourth quarter.

The teams remained scoreless in the fourth untill Eichholz scored his second goal of the game with 4:03 left.  Ty Lackey scored UCSD's last goal at 2:56.  Redlands added a late goal to close out the scoring at 9-3 UCSD.

UC San Diego will aim for its 14th WWPA title when it takes on Loyola Marymount at 3:00 p.m. in Los Angeles, Calif.  Earlier in the day, LMU defeated UC Davis to advance to the championship match.