LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The 7th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team came up short against 10th-ranked and WWPA tournament host Loyola Marymount 7-6, on Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles. In a tightly contested match, UCSD opened up a two-goal lead in the fourth quarter, only to see LMU score three unanswered as the Lions won the WWPA Championship and a spot in the NCAA Final Four. The Tritons were led by Chris Finegold and Brandon Borso with two goals apiece. UCSD finishes the 2005 season with a 24-8 mark, the best in school history.

UCSD took a 2-0 lead on goals by Borso (6:34) and Finegold (3:53). After LMU scored its first goal, Finegold scored with :03 left to give UCSD a 3-1 lead after one.

UCSD was shutout in the second period, as LMU scored at the 6:09 mark and Brian McShane tied the game 3-3 with 2:09 left. The teams would remain tied until the break.

LMU took its first lead on a Cutberto Hernandez goal at the 4:14 mark, 4-3. The Tritons' Jesse Casellini netted a goal with :22 left to tie it again at the end of three, 4-4.

In the fourth, UCSD went to its top scorers as Borso put UCSD up 5-4 at the 6:24 mark. About :30 later, Jonathan Hopkins scored to put the Tritons up 6-4 with 5:51 remaining. LMU cut it to one with 3:39 left and tied it on a Ben Easton goal, 6-6 with 2:50 remaining. McShane scored the go-ahead goal for the Lions with 1:28 remaining. UCSD was unable to produce another score in its final possessions as the Lions won the Championship 7-6.

Jonathan Hopkins was named WWPA Player of the Year while Hopkins was joined by FInegold and Borso on the All-WWPA first-team.  Chris Eichholz and Colin McElroy earned honorable mention status.