IRVINE, Calif. - The 14th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team fell to No. 8 UC Irvine, 17-8, in a non-conference matchup at Anteater Aquatics Complex Thursday.
The Tritons are now 6-7 in 2015. The Anteaters improve their record to 8-2.
UCSD got off to a slow start, allowing six UCI goals to start the game. The Tritons scored their first goal with 47 seconds in the first quarter coming from Tyler Mancuso in the post.
The Tritons and Anteaters scored four goals each in the second frame, as UCSD trailed 10-6 at halftime. Nick Alexander found the back of the cage twice and Nassim Hmeidan and Cole Martinez each scored once.
“In the second period, we settled in and started playing with them,” said head coach Denny Harper.
UCI outscored the Tritons 5-1 in the third quarter to increase the margin to nine.
With 1:38 remaining in the game, Alexander completed his hat trick by rifling one home, but the Anteater lead was insurmountable as the Tritons lost by nine.
“Irvine is a good, solid top-10 team,” Harper said. “I'm pleased that we played a lot of people tonight. We're still a work in progress.”
Alexander led UCSD with three goals. Jack Turner started at goalkeeper with eight saves and Sam Thompson came in relief and had two.
For UCI, Lovre Milos, Kyle Trush and Matt Skinner each had three goals. Dylan Peterson compiled 11 saves for the Anteaters.
The Tritons have one week off before traveling to Riverside to take on California Baptist in a Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) matchup on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m.
Box Score
UCSD 1 4 1 2 - 8
UCI 6 4 5 2 - 17
Goals
UCSD: Nick Alexander 3, Nassim Hmeidan 1, Cole Martinez 1, Jacob Castro 1, Tyler Mancuso 1, Chase Cockerill 1
UCI: Lovre Milos 3, Kyle Trush 3, Matt Skinner 3, Ryan Warde 2, Antoine Lena 2, Larson Pfeil 2, Jared Osborn 1, Pablo Carballo 1
Saves
UCSD: Jack Turner 8, Sam Thompson 2
UCI: Dylan Peterson 11, Byron Rivers 5
#TritonsRising
