PLEASANT HILL, Calif. - The 11th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team collected two victories Sunday, during day two of the NorCal Tournament hosted by UC Berkeley, UC Davis and Diablo Valley College.
The Tritons, now 5-5 overall in 2010, finished off the two-day competition with a 9-6 win over 16th-ranked Navy to capture 13th place in the tournament. Despite the match being tied 2-2 at the conclusion of the first quarter, UCSD outscored the Mids 6-2 during the second and third periods to put the contest out of reach.
Kevin Driscoll tallied three goals to lead the Tritons in scoring against Navy, while
William Brown added two of his own. In the net for UCSD,
David Morton stopped 10 of the Mids' shots.
Early on Sunday, the Tritons narrowly topped No. 19 Air Force by a score of 11-9. UCSD outscored AFA 3-1 in the first quarter but the Tritons saw their advantage trimmed as they took a 5-4 lead into halftime.
The seesaw battle continued in the final two quarters but UCSD held on for the two-goal victory.
Brian Donohoe paced the Tritons offense with three scores, while
Bryce Madsen,
Ryan Allred and Driscoll contributed two goals apiece. Morton collected seven saves against the Falcons. Sunday morning's win marked the second victory for the Tritons over AFA this year, as UCSD defeated the Falcons 11-6 in the season opener.
The losses dropped AFA and Navy to 3-7 and 13-4 respectively.
On Sunday evening at the the Spieker Aquatics Complex on the UC Berkeley campus, No. 3 USC defeated No. 2 UCLA in the NorCal Tournament title match, 11-10.
The Tritons return home to host Chapman on Thursday night. First sprint is set for 6 p.m. The Panthers hold a 3-3 record this season.
