LA JOLLA, Calif. - After nearly upsetting No. 4 Long Beach State in the SoCal Tournament, No. 6 UC San Diego was looking forward to its rematch on Thursday. Unfortunately, the Tritons (12-9, 6-0) found themselves on the losing side again as the 49ers (19-4, 5-1) took an 8-4 win at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
After the 49ers scored within the first minute of play, senior Matt Michalko tied things up for the Tritons at 1-1. Long Beach State's Devin Mefford scored his first of three with 2:01 left in the first quarter, but again UCSD tied it up as Chase Cockerill found Andy Moore who scored his 11th goal of the season. Still, the 49ers started the second quarter with a 3-2 edge.
Behind goalie Cameron Ravanbach, the Tritons defense highlighted the second quarter. The senior allowed just one goal late, which came off a penalty shot. David Higginson cut the Tritons deficit to one at the half by scoring with just 30 seconds left.
Long Beach State pulled ahead in the third quarter as it held the Tritons scoreless while recording three goals.
Higginson scored his second goal of the night with 2:45 left in the game, but it wasn't enough to lead UCSD to a comeback.
Ravanbach finished the night with 12 saves, while Higginson notched a team-high two goals.
The Tritons will wrap up their regular season on Nov. 8 as they face No. 12 UC Irvine at 12 p.m. at Canyonview Aquatic Center. Saturday will be Senior Night as eight Tritons - Ravanbach, Michalko, Higginson, Dan Lorch, Joe Dietrich, Lukas Syka, Josh Stiling, and Luca De Vivo - will be playing in the final home match of their careers. The group will be recognized in a ceremony prior to the game.
BOX SCORE
UCSD 2 1 0 1 - 4
LBSU 3 1 3 1 - 8
GOALS
UCSD: David Higginson 2, Matt Michalko 1, Andy Moore 1
LBSU: Devin Mefford 3, Zacchary Kappos 2, Nick Rascon 1, Nolan McConnell 1, Joey Fabian 1
SAVES
UCSD: Cameron Ravanbach 12
LBSU: Pavo Ljepopio 10
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