LA JOLLA, Calif. - The ninth-ranked University of California San Diego women's water polo team settled for eighth-place at the 2017 Triton Invitational after falling to No. 18 UC Davis and No. 17 San Diego State on the second day of competition, Saturday.
UC San Diego faltered in the first game falling 10-9 to UCD. In the seventh-place game against local rival SDSU, UCSD came up short, suffering a 5-4 loss.
The Tritons finished the weekend 1-3 and move to 3-5 overall on the season. The Aggies dropped their second game of the day to UCSB and fall to 4-10 overall while the Aztecs move to 4-4 on the season.
Senior Lauren Boyer led the Triton offense tallying 5 goals and three steals on the day.
GAME ONE
A slow start doomed the Tritons in the first game as UCSD allowed the Aggies to score three-consecutive goals in the opening two minutes.
The Tritons came back with two scores to round out the first frame 3-2. Senior Alexis Wieseler found the back of the net off a pass from Kayla Fedler before Krista Schneider connected with Boyer for a goal in the last six seconds of the quarter.
UCD scored three times in the second frame to go up 6-4 at the half way mark. Boyer and sophomore Chanel Schilling tallied two goals in the quarter for the Tritons.
UCSD outscored the Aggies 4-1 in the third quarter to an 8-7 lead, heading into the final frame. UCD scored early in the quarter before Boyer collected a goal off a pass from Schilling at 6:09. Lani Tittle and Shelby Stender scored back-to-back goals to knot the game 707 with three minutes remaining in the frame. Wieseler scored off a power play in the final thirty seconds to give UCSD the lead. Sophomore Krista Schneider tallied two assists during the quarter while Fedler collected one.
Wieseler tallied a goal off a five-meter penalty shot to open up the final frame. UCSD held a 9-7 lead before the Aggies shut out the Tritons from scoring during the remainder of the game and collected three goals of their own to seal the victory.
Freshman Reilly Gallagher played the entire game in goal and tallied 10 saves while the Aggies' Avery Dotterer collected five.
GAME TWO
On their fourth match against a nationally ranked opponent in the last 48 hours, The Tritons held No. 17 SDSU to only five goals but ultimately fell short in the end.
The Aztecs jumped on the board first but Boyer scored two minutes later to knot the game1-1. SDSU's Katy Schneider scored back-to-back goals to give the Aztecs a two-goal cushion after the first frame.
The SDSU defense held the Tritons from scoring during the second quarter while collecting another goal during the frame to lead 4-1 at the half.
Schneider and Boyer each tallied a goal in the third frame to make it a 5-3 game heading into the final quarter.
The UCSD defense held SDSU scoreless during the final eight minutes while Schneider grabbed a goal during the frame but it wasn't enough as the Aztecs slipped by with the win.
Gallagher had 12 saves in goal while the Aztecs' Maura Cantoni notched 11.
UCSD will return to the pool Saturday, Feb. 18 for a game against California Baptist in Riverside at 12 p.m.
GAME ONE BOX SCORE
UC Davis 3 3 1 3 - 10
UCSD 2 2 4 1 - 9
Goals
UCSD: Lauren Boyer 3, Alexis Wieseler 3, Lani Tittle 1, Shelby Stender 1, Chanel Schilling 1
UCD: McKenna Hauss 4, Greta Kohlmoss 2, Kathleen Schafle 2, Sammy Preston 1, Hannah Harvey 1
Saves
UCSD: Reilly Gallagher 10
UCI: Avery Dotterer 5
GAME TWO BOX SCORE
SDSU 3 1 1 0 - 5
UCSD 1 0 2 1 - 4
Goals
UCSD: Lauren Boyer 2, Krista Schneider 2
SDSU: Katy Schneider 2, Caroline Israels 1, Lizzy Bilz 1, Alyssa Diacono 1
Saves
UCSD: Reilly Gallagher 12
SDSU: Maura Cantoni 11
