LA JOLLA, Calif. – Vedran Latkovic scored with 15 seconds left in the game to lift the No. 9 University of California San Diego men's water polo team to a 14-13 win over No. 17 Loyola Marymount Wednesday night at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
With the victory in front of almost 1,000 fans, UC San Diego lifted its overall record to 7-3. Suffering its third-consecutive loss, LMU dropped to 2-5.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
With the score knotted at 13-13,
Karlo Krmek found Latkovic on the left side, about six meters from the net. With the nearest defender two meters in front of him, Latkovic got off a lob just before the shot clock expired. The ball sailed past several outstretched arms and a lunging LMU goalkeeper, finding a home in the bottom right corner of the net for the eventual game-winner.
It was the fifth goal of the night for Latkovic, a new single game career-high for the Montenegrin.
The Lions went back on offense for the final 15 seconds of the game, but did not manage to get anything going.
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The Tritons found themselves down by three goals, 9-6, at halftime. However, the offense exploded for five goals in the third quarter and the game was tied, 11-11, at the end of the period..
The Lions scored the first two goals of the final quarter, one at 6:43 and the other at 3:33, to give them a 13-11 advantage.
With 3:08 remaining,
Karlo Krmek ignited the Tritons' three-goal run. At 1:12,
Calder Hilde-Jones scored to knot it at 13-13 and set the table for Latkovic.
Three Tritons scored two goals in the game including Hilde-Jones,
Jack Ranj, and
Trevor Moore.
Adding to his point total for the game, Latkovic also had an assist.
Alexander Nemeth made nine saves in net for UC San Diego.
Loyola Marymount was led offensively by Alexandro Athymaritis, who scored four goals. Robert Halligan finished with 11 saves.
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QUOTABLES FROM HEAD COACH DENNY HARPER
TRITON TIDBITS
• The game was part of the Tritons Week of Welcome and was the first home event since the student body returned to campus.
• Though both teams are Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) rivals, tonight's game was a non-conference contest.
• The Tritons are 8-1 in their last nine games against the Lions.
• The last time UC San Diego was defeated by LMU was on Sept. 25, 2019 (16-17 in La Jolla)Â
• UC San Diego has totaled 160 goals over 10 matches, an average of 16 goals per game.
•
Calder Hilde-Jones and
Vedran Latkovic have scored at least one goal in all 10 games this season.
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UP NEXT
UC San Diego has a quick turnaround as the Nor Cal Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Invitational begins Friday in Berkeley. The Tritons will play a total of four matches over three days, starting with seventh-ranked UC Davis on Friday at 3:20 p.m. The schedule and opponent for the remainder of the games will depend on results. For the full season schedule, click
here.
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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 began a new era in 2020 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 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned 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.
