UCSD Nearly Upsets No. 5 UC Irvine; Tritons Fall 8-7 on Senior Night

LA JOLLA, Calif. – With 4:53 left in the match, junior Laurel Kistler scored to put the UC San Diego women's water polo team ahead of No. 5 UC Irvine. Unfortunately, the Anteaters closed out the final quarter with two critical goals to regain the lead and beat the Tritons, 8-7, at Canyonview Aquatic Center Thursday.

UCSD moves to 13-17 overall on the season while UCI improves to 16-6.

Despite having a tough match up, the Tritons came out strong against the Anteaters. Just 1:07 into the game, Lani Tittle scored to give UCSD its first lead. UCI answered back, but Julia Kirkland once again put the Tritons ahead. However, with just four seconds left in the first quarter, the Anteaters squared up the match at 2-2.

It wasn't until the second quarter that UC Irvine took its first lead of the game. Freshman Kayla Fedler scored the Tritons lone goal of the second frame, but the Anteaters went into the half with a 4-3 advantage.

UCI opened the second half with a goal, but UCSD responded with scores from Jolene Guiliana and Tittle to tie the match for the fourth time at 5-5. The Anteaters took the lead shortly after. But with 10 seconds left in the third quarter, Fedler tied the match at six apiece.

In the final frame, Kistler provided the Tritons with their biggest goal of the match. Capitalizing on the 6-on-5 advantage, Kistler found the back of the cage with 4:53 left in the match to give UCSD a 7-6 lead. However, UCI netted back-to-back goals shortly after. With 51 seconds left in the match, the Tritons drew the exclusion, but unfortunately couldn't get the goal as they fell 8-7.

Prior to the start of Thursday's game, UCSD recognized two outstanding seniors, attackers Andie Nishimi and Guiliana, as they were playing for the final time at Canyonview Aquatic Center. The pair led UCSD to its fourth Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) title in addition to its third appearance in the NCAA Championship last year.

The Tritons will begin conference play on Saturday with road matches against Cal State Monterey Bay and Sonoma State, starting at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. They will then play at Cal State East Bay Sunday at 11 a.m.

UCSD 2 1 3 1 - 7
UCI 2 2 2 2 - 8
Goals
UCSD: Lani Tittle 2, Kayla Fedler 2, Laurel Kistler 1, Julia Kirkland 1, Jolene Guiliana 1
UCI: Danielle Warde 3, Cambria Shockley 1, Natalie Seidemann 1, Destene Albers 1, Mary Brooks 1, Julie Swiecs
Saves
UCSD: Courtney Miller 12
UCI: Jillian Yocum 6