SANTA BARBARA, Calif. ? The 4th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team outscored 9th-ranked UC Santa Barbara 4-2 in the final period as the Tritons defeated the Gauchos 11-9 on Friday afternoon. Ty Lackey and Jesse Casellini broke a 9-9 tie with goals in the final 2:18. Casellini and Lackey led the Tritons with four goals apiece. Nestor Dordoni added two goals while Steven Donohoe also scored for UCSD. The Tritons improve to 13-2 on the season. UCSD is back in action tomorrow afternoon at No. 15 Long Beach State at 3:00 p.m.
The first quarter of the game began with the Gauchos striking first with a six-on-five goal by Tamas Donauer. The Tritons got back in the game quickly with two straights goals. Matt Dale tied the game up at 2-2 with a backhand goal, which was followed by a six-on-five goal provided by Zsombor Vinzce. The Tritons returned the favor with a goal by Jesse Casellini to tie-up the game 3-3 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter of play began with the Tritons taking the lead by one but the Gauchos kept it close with the help of Kendell Olds who scored out of center to make the game even. The Tritons took advantage of a penalty shot scored by Casellini to gain a 5-4 advantage.
UCSD put up another point on the scoreboard with a skip-shot, but Ross Sinclair added a goal for UCSB as the first half came to a close with the Gauchos trailing, 6-5.
The Tritons started the second half quickly with a goal widening their lead by two. Jesse Tootell pulled the Gauchos within one followed by Sinclair who added a skip-shot to tie the game at the end of the third quarter, 7-7.
The fourth quarter was intense as the Gauchos and the Tritons kept the game very close as both teams scored a pair to even it out at 9-9. The Tritons pulled ahead and put two more on the board to eventually seal the deal over the Gauchos, 11-9. Lackey scored at the 2:18 mark and Casellini added the insurance goal with 1:25 remaining.
