LA JOLLA, Calif. – The No 7 UC San Diego water polo team opened up the first day of the Triton Invite with a 14-5 win over No. 24 Marist College and a big 11-7 win over No T-9 UC Santa Barbara. The Tritons move onto the semifinal for the first time in quite some time and play USC at 11:10 on February 9.
VS MARIST
The Tritons got off to a fast start and opened up the first quarter 6-0. While Marist would outscore the Tritons 3-2 in the second quarter, UC San Diego's offense picked up its groove in the second half to win the game.
Bennett Bugelli was tested in the net and finished the game with 12 saves. Bugelli and the defense played well in power play situations and held Marist to 2-for-11.
Taylor Onstott led the Tritons with a game high five goals and added two assists.
Grace Pevehouse added a hat trick.
Sydney Boland led a stingy defense with five steals.
Ciara Franke and Pevehouse also had two steals.
VS UC SANTA BARBARA
A trio of juniors led the scoring effort for UC San Diego. Franke, Pevehouse and
Sydney Boland each had a hat trick. The Tritons finished the game with a .500 shooting percentage.
Bugelli continued her impressive performance in the cage and finished with 10 saves and three steals. She came up clutch in 5-meter shots and blocked a pair.
The game started as a back in forth affair with neither team able to take a lead at the end of the first quarter. Franke scored a pair of goals including a five-meter penalty goal to help the Tritons go up 6-4 at halftime.
The Tritons stretched the lead to three points by the end of the third quarter and were able to rely on their defense to hold onto the lead in the final frame.
About UC San Diego Athletics
With 30 national team championships, nearly 150 individual titles and the top student-athlete graduation rate among Division II institutions in the United States, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program annually ranks as one of the most successful in the country. The Tritons sponsor 23 intercollegiate sport programs that compete on the NCAA Division I and II levels and, in summer 2020, will transition into full Division I status as a member of the Big West Conference. UC San Diego student-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent. A total of 82 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. In competition, more than 1,300 UC San Diego student-athletes have earned All-America honors.
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