LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The 5th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team posted a 10-6 victory over 11th-ranked UC Irvine on Wednesday evening in front of 981 fans at Canyonview Pool. With the victory the Tritons improve to 22-6 on the year while dropping the Anteaters to 9-16 overall.
UCSD jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after the first quarter behind two goals from A.J. Kotanjian and one more from Jesse Cassellini.
UC Irvine scored the next two goals to pull within one goal but Kotanjian netted his fourth goal of the match to give the Tritons a 4-2 lead at halftime. Both UCI goals in the second quarter were scored by Colin Mello.
The Anteaters would get no closer than the 3-2 deficit they had in the second quarter as Nestor Dordoni, Curtis Williamson and Ty Lackey each scored one goal apiece in the third stanza to put UCSD up by a 7-4 margin. Cavis Carpenter and Curt Merlo netted the two goals for UCI in the third quarter.
The Tritons closed out the match with a 3-2 advantage in the fourth quarter as Dordoni, Cassellini and Kyle Sutterly each scored to give UCSD 10 goals on the night. Jamie Frank and Mello closed out the scoring for the Anteaters in the fourth stanza.
UCSD returns to action on November 17-19 at the WWPA Championship in Pomona. The Tritons are expected to earn the No. 1 seed in the tournament, with the WWPA title winner getting the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Championships in Los Angeles on December 2-3.
