LA JOLLA, Calif. - Despite being hosts of the 2014 National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championship, UC San Diego couldn't capitalize on its home pool advantage.
After a tight first quarter, UCLA (28-3) scored six goals in the second frame to power past UCSD (16-10) and earn a 15-6 win in the first semifinal match on Saturday at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
"I speak for the team and our university that we're disappointed that we lost that game," head coach Denny Harper said. "The dream of winning the national championship for us is over. However, my sense is that we're really excited about tomorrow's third-place game."
The Bruins won the opening sprint and scored on the first possession, but the Tritons answered back immediately.
Senior Matt Michalko found Joe Dietrich after only 42 seconds of play to tie the match up at one apiece. UCLA's Cristiano Mirarchi then scored his first of three to give the Bruins the slight 2-1 edge after the first quarter.
The second quarter got off to a slow start, but ultimately was the turning point in the match. After UCLA extended its lead to 3-1 in the first 40 seconds, the next goal didn't come for another three minutes. Tritons' goal leader Josh Stiling converted on the man up to cut UCSD's deficit to one.
The Bruins' offense then took off as they went on a 5-1 run in the remaining 3:41 of the half. The Tritons' second goal of the quarter came from junior Tiki Toplak. But UCLA took an 8-3 lead into the half.
David Higginson scored the Tritons' lone goal of the third quarter, while UCLA tacked on three more.
UCSD had another close quarter with UCLA in the final frame. Dietrich scored his second of the game on an assist from Stiling and Michalko scored on pass from Dietrich.
Senior goalie Cameron Ravanbach made eight stops and Dietrich was the Tritons' top scorer with two goals. Mirarchi led the way for UCLA and recorded a hat trick while the Bruins had nine different scorers.
While UCSD won't be competing for the National Title tomorrow, the Tritons still have plenty of accomplishments to be proud of this season including going a perfect 6-0 in Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) play, winning their 17th WWPA Championship, and making their 13th NCAA appearance.
“It's been an amazing ride to get to this point," Ravanbach said. "We're still keeping our heads high and we're looking forward to whoever the loser of this next game is because that will be our last collegiate game (for eight UCSD seniors). We're excited.”
The Tritons will face Stanford in tomorrow's third-place game at 1 p.m. after USC upset the Cardinal in a 12-11 overtime thriller.
BOX SCORE
UCSD 1 2 1 2 - 6
UCLA 2 6 4 3 - 15
GOALS
UCSD: Joe Dietrich 2, Matt Michalko 1, Josh Stiling 1, Tiki Toplak 1, David Higginson 1
UCLA: Cristano Mirarchi 3, Daniel Lenhart 2, Paul Reynolds 2, Gordon Marshall 2, Ryder Roberts 2, Anthony Daboub 1, Chancellor Ramirez 1, Matt Farmer 1, Jack Fellner 1
SAVES
UCSD: Cameron Ravanbach 8
UCLA: Garrett Danner 13, Stephen White 1
#TritonsRising
