IRVINE, Calif. – The No. 10 UC San Diego women's water polo team dropped a 9-7 contest to No. 4 UCI Irvine. The Tritons fall to 3-2 on the season while the Anteaters improve to 6-2.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Anteaters struck first with two goals midway through the first quarter.
Jessee Ransone got the Tritons on the board with 4:27 left in the quarter. On the next offensive possession, Ransone fed the ball to
Tera Richardson to tie the game up. The game stayed tied until UCI scored on power play opportunity to go up 4-3 at the end of the quarter.
UCI added two quick goals to take a 6-3 lead early in the second quarter. Pevehouse got the Tritons on the board in the second frame on a penalty shot. The Anteaters add another goal but
Ciara Franke scored on a power play opportunity to keep the Triton deficit to two goals.
Both defenses played well in the third quarter and limited the opposing offenses. Franke scored her second goal of the game to cut the Anteater lead to 7-6. UCI scored in the final minute to take an 8-6 lead into the final quarter.
The Anteaters scored within the first minute of the fourth quarter. A penalty shot was skipped in by
Ciara Franke to make it a 9-7 game. The Tritons had a pair of power play opportunities near the end of the fourth to tie up the game, but the Tritons could not capitalize.
FROM THE COACH
"Clearly we played much better today and I'm super proud of our effort and bounce back after the drubbing we got yesterday," stated Head Coach
Brad Kreutzkamp. "UCI is one of the best teams in the nation and showed that we can play with them and anybody on any day. We just have to bring it consistently and keep the same effort day in and day out, but for today we definitely have stuff to go back and work on."
TRITON TIBITS
- Bennett Bugelli had another great day in goal and recorded 15 saves, two shy of her career high.
- Franke had a team high three goals and three steals.
- The Tritons made both penalty shots.
- On five-on-six defense, the Tritons limited the Anteaters to finish 2-for-8 on power play opportunities.
UP NEXT
The Tritons welcome University of Hawaii to Canyonview for a pair of games on March 10 and 11. The first game against the Rainbow Warriors will be their Big West opener.
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDTritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
Return To Sport…Safely
In order for UC San Diego scholar-athletes to be permitted to return to training and competition safely and within federal, state, local, and university guidelines, the athletic department implemented a number of measures designed to complement and enhance the university's highly-successful Return To Learn program. Notable actions include being physically distanced when practical, including during out-of-season training sessions; wearing masks, except when undergoing physically strenuous exercise; and maintaining proper hygiene. Athletes, coaches, and staff are testing at a higher frequency than the campus population, teams adhere to CDC, NCAA, and Big West Conference guidelines, and department officials participate in regular meetings with conference and university-affiliated physicians and the UC San Diego emergency operations staff.
