THE SCHEDULE
Match 13
SoCal Tournament
No. 9 UC Irvine (10-4, 0-2)
Saturday, Oct. 11 • 9:25 a.m.
Spieker Aquatics Center • Los Angeles
Match 14
SoCal Tournament
Saturday, Oct. 11 • 1:40 p.m. or 3:05 p.m.
Spieker Aquatics Center • Los Angeles
Match 15 & 16
SoCal Tournament
Sunday, Oct. 12 • TBD
Spieker Aquatics Center • Los Angeles
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW
UCSD continued to dominate in conference play last week after beating No. 17 Loyola Marymount and No. 15 Air Force. The Tritons now have a controlling lead in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) standings with a 3-0 record.
On Wednesday, the matchup between UCSD and LMU drew a huge crowd of 1,704 at Canyonview Aquatic Center. The contest started as a defensive battle with the Lions holding a slight 2-1 lead at the half. However, sophomore Andy Moore sparked the Tritons' offense as he tied up the game with a cross cage goal late in the third quarter. Shortly after, junior Chase Cockerill scored the eventual game-winning goal. UCSD went on to win 7-2.
The team then traveled to Colorado Springs, Colo., to face No. 15 Air Force. The Tritons jumped out to an early 5-1 lead and never looked back. Senior Josh Stiling scored a game-high four goals, while Cockerill also completed the hat trick in UCSD's 17-7 victory. Senior goalkeeper Cameron Ravanbach (La Jolla/La Jolla HS) shined on defense during Friday's match, recording an impressive 15 stops to tie his season high.
WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cameron Ravanbach (La Jolla/La Jolla HS) was named KAP7 WWPA Co-Player of the Week on Oct. 8. After a stellar performance in the cage last week, highlighted by 28 saves, Ravanbach helped lead the No. 8 Tritons to a pair of big wins over nationally ranked WWPA opponents. The senior goalkeeper put up 13 saves as UCSD beat LMU. Wednesday's contest was the second-straight game that Ravanbach held an opponent to just two goals. The previous came in the Tritons' 19-2 win against Fresno Pacific. Ravanbach capped off the week tying a season-high 15 stops during the win against Air Force to help the Tritons remain perfect in conference play. This is the second KAP7 WWPA Player of Week award UCSD has received in 2014. Senior Josh Stiling earned the honor on Sept. 10.
SOCAL FIELD
The SoCal Tournament will feature some tough competition for the Tritons as all 16 teams are ranked nationally, including every team in the top-10. Here is a full list with UCSD's all-time record against the field: No. 1 UCLA (2-56, 0-1 in 2014), No. 2 Stanford (0-33, 0-1 in 2014), No. 3 Cal (1-30-1, 0-1 in 2014), No. 4 USC (2-33), No. 5 Long Beach State (15-49), No. 6 Santa Barbara (19-40, 0-1 in 2014), No. 7 Pacific (11-10, 0-1 in 2014), No. 9 UC Irvine (11-43, 1-0 in 2014), No. 10 Princeton (6-1), No. 11 UC Davis (45-14), No. 12 Pepperdine (7-41-1), No. 15 Air Force (60-14, 1-0 in 2014), No. 16 Loyola Marymount (53-23, 1-0 in 2014), No. 18 Whittier College (15-0), and No. 20 St. Francis College Brooklyn (3-2).
TOURNEY RUNDOWN
UCLA is hosting the annual SoCal Tournament at Spieker Aquatics Center and Sunset Canyon. UCSD is scheduled to play No. 9 UC Irvine in the first game at 9:25 a.m. on Saturday at the Spieker Aquatics Center. For a full schedule of the SoCal tournament, click here.
MICHALKO ENTERS RECORD BOOK
Senior Matt Michalko (San Diego/The Bishop's School) has made his way onto UCSD's all-time ejections drawn list. Michalko has helped give the Tritons a 6-on-5 advantage 126 times, which is good for 10th on the list. Michalko is now closing in on Brandon Borso's ninth place mark of 132.
STILING APPROACHING TOP 10
Senior Josh Stiling is 14 goals away from making it onto UCSD's career goals top-10 list. Stiling scored four times on the road against No. 15 Air Force, bringing his career-total to 149 goals. With 14 more scores, Stiling would be tied for 10th on the list with Dan Crane.
RAVANBACH MOVING UP
Senior goalkeeper Cameron Ravanbach (La Jolla/La Jolla HS) entered the 2014 season in seventh place on UCSD's all-time saves list with 557. He now has 702, just 12 stops away from tying Collin McElroy, who sits in sixth place with 714. Ravanbach has posted 10 or more saves in 11 games so far this season.
TRITON NOTES
Head coach Denny Harper is now just nine victories away from earning his 600th win... Sophomore Connor Watson scored his first goal of the season during Friday's win... Josh Stiling leads UCSD with 33 goals this season. He has been the Tritons' top scorer in nine games... Six Tritons have recorded hat tricks this season - Stiling (6), Cockerill (1), Joe Dietrich (1), David Higginson (San Diego/The Bishop's School) (1), Andy Moore (1), and Lukas Syka (San Diego/Westview HS) (1)... UCSD has earned three wins against nationally ranked opponents so far this season.
ABOUT THE ANTEATERS
No. 10 UC Irvine is off to a strong start in its 2014 campaign. The Anteaters began the season in La Jolla where they competed in the Triton Invitational. They won all four of their games, including a 25-8 routing of La Verne to cap off the tournament. UC Irvine traveled across the country where it played in the Bruno Fall Classic in Providence, R.I. Again, the Anteaters had strong performance, winning three of four games, with their only loss coming from No. 11 Princeton in overtime. They then took on the Tritons to start off the NorCal Tournament and lost 10-9. However, UC Irvine bounced back and won its final three games of the tournament. The Anteaters are coming into the SoCal Tournament on a two-game losing skid after falling to No. 1 UCLA, 17-9 and No. 2 Stanford, 12-6.
SERIES HISTORY
UC Irvine currently holds a 43-11 all-time series record against UCSD. The Tritons and the Anteaters squared off earlier this season on Sept. 20 in the NorCal Tournament in Stockton. The Tritons used two big quarters to give them a 8-4 lead at half. UC Irvine tried to make a comeback in the second half, but ultimately fell short, giving UCSD a 10-9 win.
WHAT THE COACHES THINK
The Tritons have been selected to repeat as Western Water Polo Association Champions in the WWPA Preseason Coaches' Poll. UCSD received six first place votes, tallying 36 points to be picked as the favorite to win the WWPA Championship. The Tritons won the 2013 WWPA Championships with a 6-4 win over UC Davis giving them their second title in three years. UC Davis was picked to finish second with 30 points.
HEAD COACH DENNY HARPER
UCSD head coach Denny Harper is in his 35th season leading the Tritons. He has compiled a career record of 591-436-4. Harper has led the Tritons to 16 Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) titles and 12 appearances in the NCAA Championship. He has been named the WWPA Coach of the Year 16 times and the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPA) Division II Coach of the Year five times.
UCSD TO HOST 2014 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
UCSD will be hosting the 2014 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, Dec. 6th and 7th, at Canyonview Aquatic Center. All-Session tickets are now on sale. Don't miss what promises to be the biggest water polo event in San Diego history! For tickets and information, click here.
GEAR HERE
UCSD Athletics has partnered with Advanced-Online to provide a web-based, on-demand option for UCSD apparel and merchandise. Fans have access to over 600 products that can be processed and shipped within 24 hours. Visit the site at UCSDTritonsGear.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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UP NEXT
UCSD will return home on Friday, Oct. 17, where it will take on WWPA opponent California Baptist at 6 p.m. The Tritons will be looking for their fourth-straight win in conference play.
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