LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The twelfth-ranked University of California San Diego men's water polo team remained undefeated in Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) play after beating rival Loyola Marymount by a score of 12-8, Friday afternoon in Los Angeles.
UC San Diego improves to 6-10 on the season and a perfect 3-0 in the WWPA. LMU falls to 4-11 overall and 1-1 in the conference. The Tritons won all three meetings between the Lions this season, improving their all-time series record to 59-25.
Senior Arman Momdzhyan powered the UCSD offense, completing his seventh hat trick of the season behind a five-goal performance. The Tritons also got two goals from sophomore Cooper Milton and one goal each from sophomore Skyler Munatones, freshman Jack Ranj, senior Collin Sullivan, freshman Brad Robison and junior Alessandro Valania.
On defense, UCSD grabbed 13 steals and drew eight ejections. Junior Sam Thompson made eight saves in goal.
The Tritons held a 39-28 advantage in shots and executed 3-of-8 powerplays while the Lions went 0-for-6 in extra-man situations.
"I was a bit concerned early on but by halftime I felt like we were in control of the game," said head coach Denny Harper. "It's always tough to play any place on the road in the WWPA but especially when it's against a long-time rival like LMU".
Despite trailing 2-1 after the first quarter, the UCSD defense shutout LMU in the second frame while the offense netted four goals, taking a three-goal lead into the half. Momdzhyan and Milton each scored twice.
Momdzhyan had three goals in the third frame, propelling the Tritons to a five-goal lead. Momdzhyan scored twice on powerplay situations while he notched another on a feed from sophomore Skyler Munatones. Munatones tallied his lone goal of the game as time expired in the period.
The Lions attempted a comeback in the fourth frame, scoring four times, but it wasn't enough as UCSD sealed the four-goal victory. Matt Braun had two goals for LMU while thee different Tritons found the back of the net in the final eight minutes.
Dominick Beaudine made 11 saves for LMU in goal.
"I thought Arman was very dominant, and while our offense overall sputtered our defense was fairly consistent throughout the game," said Harper.
UC San Diego will continue WWPA play on the road when it travels to California Baptist Thursday, October 12 for a game set to start at 6 p.m.
UC San Diego 12, Loyola Marymount 8
UCSD 1 4 4 3 - 12
LMU 2 0 2 4 - 8
Goals
UCSD: Arman Momdzhyan 5, Cooper Milton 2, Skyler Munatones, Alessandro Valania, Jack Ranj, Brad Robison, Collin Sullivan.
LMU: Alessio Brunocelli 3, Matt Braun 2, Austin Clark, Jacob Markle, Joseph Shaw.
Saves
UCSD: Sam Thompson 8
LMU: Dominick Beaudine 11
#AllForOne
