LA JOLLA, Calif. - In front of a raucous crowd of 1,539 fans, the 14th-ranked University of California San Diego men's water polo team defeated conference rival Loyola Marymount in a Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) matchup, Wednesday at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
With 2:03 remaining in the game and the score tied 10-10, senior Nick Alexander fed freshman Skyler Munatones for the eventual game-winning goal on a power play after LMU goalie Dominick Beaudine was ejected due to a minor act of misconduct penalty.
With the win, the Tritons improve to 5-4 overall and 1-0 in the WWPA. The Lions drop to 2-7 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
Munatones led UCSD with three goals for his second hat trick of the season. Junior Arman Momdzhyan had two and sophomore Andreas Stathatos (San Diego/Mt. Carmel HS), sophomore Carson Ivancovich, redshirt freshman Ari Wayne, senior Jack Ellinthorpe, redshirt sophomore Thomas Higginson (San Diego/The Bishop's School) and senior Nassim Hmeidan all pitched in one each. Redshirt sophomore goalie Jack Turner compiled 12 saves.
LMU was led by Dayne Jagga's game-high five scores. Beaudine amassed nine stops in the cage for the Lions.
The Tritons started off hot, firing home three straight, two from Momdzhyan and one from Munatones, for an early 3-0 lead. The Lions countered with two goals of their own to cut the margin to one, 3-2, at the end of the first quarter.
UCSD only needed 22 seconds in the second quarter for a score as Ivancovich found the back of the cage. With 54 seconds remaining, Ellinthorpe put one away on a six-on-five to bring the Triton lead back to three. LMU capitalized on a power play of their own, with eight ticks before halftime, to make it a two-score game.
Both teams put away four goals in a high scoring third quarter. Munatones rifled one into the back of the cage for the first score. The Lions were able to equalize, 6-6, with a run of three unanswered goals, two from Jagga and one from Jon Beck. Hmeidan and Wayne pushed back with a score each to open the margin back to two. Jagga and Higginson traded goals as UCSD went into the final period with a 9-7 advantage.
Beck opened the final quarter and cut the Triton lead to one with a score. Stathatos brought the advantage back to two, but not before LMU's Jagga took over once again and got two consecutive to even the score, the equalizer being on a counter-attack off a turnover.
With 2:21 remaining Beaudine was excluded after he was called for a minor act of misconduct. The power play gave Munatones the opportunity to score the go-ahead and final goal.
UCSD will have a day to prepare before hosting its second WWPA game of the year, taking on No. 20 Fresno Pacific, Friday, Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
UCSD 11, LMU 10
UCSD 3 2 4 2 - 11
LMU 2 1 4 3 - 10
Goals
UCSD: Skyler Munatones 3, Arman Momdzhyan 2, Andreas Stathatos 1, Carson Ivancovich 1, Ari Wayne 1, Jack Ellinthorpe 1, Thomas Higginson 1, Nassim Hmeidan 1
LMU: Dayne Jagga 5, Jon Beck 2, Eric Reitmeir 1, Alex Athimartis 1, Neil LeVecke 1
Saves
UCSD: Jack Turner 12
LMU: Dominick Beaudine 9
#AllForOne
