LOS ANGELES, Calif. ? The 3rd-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team showed it can compete with the top teams in the country at the Southern California Tournament this weekend, hosted by USC. The Tritons dropped a semifinal game against No. 1 USC by a 10-9 score. The Trojans are the defending National Champions and have won 33 straight games. In the loss, UCSD's Ty Lackey and A.J. Kotanjian scored three times each. In the third-place game, UCSD went up against No. 4 UCLA, a team the Tritons defeated just one week ago. This time, it was the Bruins coming out on top 12-3.
UCSD gave USC all it could handle in a 10-9 loss in the semifinals. The Tritons trailed 6-4 at halftime and matched goals in the third to trail 8-6 through three quarters. UCSD outscored USC 3-2 in the fourth, but came up one goal short. Lackey and Kotanjian each netted three scores for UCSD. Nestor Dordoni added two and Jesse Casellini also scored.
The Tritons could not match their strong showing they had last week when they defeated UCLA at Canyonview Pool. This time, the Bruins cruised to the 12-3 win.
UCSD is back in action on Thursday, October 19 when it travels to take on Western Water Polo Association rival Loyola Marymount. The game is slated to begin at 3:00 p.m. in Los Angeles.
