ORANGE, Calif. - The 10th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team trailed by three goals in the second quarter and two goals in the third, but rallied for a 14-13 overtime win against No. 20 Redlands in the Western Water Polo Association tournament on Friday in Orange. The Tritons trailed 9-7 in the third quarter before making three unanswered goals to end the quarter with a 10-9 lead. In overtime,
Lance Curtiss and
Sean Roberts netted scores and the Tritons held off the Bulldogs the rest of the way. With the win, UCSD improves to 13-13 and advances to the WWPA semifinals on Saturday. The Tritons will face Whittier, an upset winner over Air Force earlier in the day.
For the Tritons, Steven Donohoe and Bryce Madsen scored three goals each. Roberts, Sean Cruz and Curtiss scored two goals each while Ryan Allred and Kneif Lohse also scored.
UCSD trailed by a 4-2 score at the end of the first quarter. The Tritons would recover to score five times in the second quarter as Donohoe and Cruz scored twice each and Allred also scored as the game was tied 7-7 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Redlands scored the first two goals of the quarter to lead 9-7 with just over three minutes remaining. UCSD would have scores at the 2:31, 1:47 and 1:04 marks to tie and then take the lead at 10-9 heading into the fourth quarter.
Donohoe began the scoring in the fourth to put UCSD up 12-9 with 4:54 remaining. Redlands came right back with a goal at the 4:40 mark to pull within 12-10. At the 3:10 mark, Redlands scored again to pull within one. With just :04 remaining, the Bulldogs tied the game at 12-12, forcing the game into overtime.
UCSD scored on Curtiss' goal with :44 left in the first overtime period for the 13-12 lead. Then with under one second left (.77), Roberts netted a goal for the 14-12 lead. In the second overtime period, Redlands scored at the 1:06 mark to pull within one goal, but this time UCSD was able to keep the Bulldogs scoreless the rest of the way for the 14-13 final.
UCSD will face Whittier in the WWPA semifinals on Saturday. Earlier in the day, Whittier was a surprise 10-9 winner over Air Force. First sprint will take place at 3:15 p.m.
