COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Redshirt freshman goalie Jack Turner saved the potential game-tying shot from the Aggies' Ido Goldschmidt in the closing moments of the game as the 16th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team claimed its third straight, 18th overall, Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) title with a 6-5 win over No. 9 UC Davis in Sunday's WWPA Championship final. Air Force hosted the tournament at Cadet Natatorium. The Tritons will receive the conference's automatic bid for the 2015 NCAA Championship.
UC Davis came into the tournament as the top seed, while UCSD was third.
The Tritons improve to a 14-13 overall record. The Aggies ended their campaign at 18-8.
UCSD was led by junior driver Nick Alexander's four goals. Senior utility Chase Cockerill and senior two-meter Tyler Mancuso added one each. Turner amassed nine saves, none bigger than the final two with the seconds ticking away, to maintain the one-goal edge.
UC Davis got all their goals from different players and got 12 saves from goalie Spencer Creed.
The Triton defense was stellar in the opening frame as they shut out the Aggies. Alexander was able to score two powerplay goals in the period as UCSD led 2-0 at the end of the first quarter.
UC Davis evened the score with goals from Jacob Ley and San Grab to start the second period. Cockerill was able to find the back of the cage with 12 seconds remaining in the quarter as the Tritons took the lead. It was short lived as the Aggies answered back 10 seconds later, with only two ticks left before halftime, to tie the game.
UCSD took a two-goal lead in the third period after Alexander's five-meter penalty shot was true and Mancuso fired one home from the post. After UC Davis cut the margin to one, Alexander buried another penalty shot with 46 seconds remaining as the Tritons took a two-score advantage into the final quarter.
UCSD was not able to do anything offensively in the final period, being shut out, but Turner and the defense limited the Aggies to only one goal to take the victory.
With his four-goal performance, Alexander was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and All-Tournament First Team member. Cockerill and Turner joined him on the first team, while Mancuso earned second-team honors.
The Tritons will participate in the 2015 NCAA Championship, with details of a play-in game forthcoming. Stay tuned to UCSDtritons.com for more info.
Box Score
UCSD 2 1 3 0 - 6
UCD 0 3 1 1 - 5
Goals
UCSD: Nick Alexander 4, Chase Cockerill, Tyler Mancuso
UCD: Jacob Ley, Sean Grab, Ido Goldschmidt, Brock Gordon, Sasa Antunovic
Saves
UCSD: Jack Turner 9
UCD: Spencer Creed 12
2015 WWPA Championship All-Tournament Teams
Most Valuable Player - Nick Alexander, UC San Diego
All-Tournament First Team
Nick Alexander, UC San Diego
Chase Cockerill, UC San Diego
Jack Turner, UC San Diego
Brent Teraoka, California Baptist
Eric Curia, Air Force
Riley Thomas, Air Force
Ido Goldschmidt, UC Davis
Spencer Creed, UC Davis
All-Tournament Second Team
Tyler Mancuso, UC San Diego
Dillon Robinson, Fresno Pacific
Tyler Testman, Loyola Marymount
DeMarco Orella, Santa Clara
Christopher Forte, California Baptist
Justin Harrison, Air Force
Sean Grab, UC Davis
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