BERKELEY, Calif. – In a thriller that lived up to the pre-game hype, the ninth-ranked University of California San Diego men's water polo team was edged, 13-12, by No. 7 UC Davis in sudden victory overtime Friday in Berkeley.

It was the opening game for both teams at the Nor Cal Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Invitational, hosted by Cal at the Legends Aquatic Complex.

UC San Diego fell to 7-4 while UC Davis improved to 8-2.

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HOW IT HAPPENED
Following regulation and two regular overtime periods, Spencer Towill found the back of the net just 49 seconds into the three-minute sudden victory overtime to lift the Aggies to the non-conference win.

The Tritons owned a lead at the end of quarters one, two, and three. With the Aggies trailing, 9-8, heading into the fourth quarter, Connor Norton scored less than a minute in to bring his team back even. With just over four minutes left in regulation, UCD's Aleix Aznar Beltran struck to give the Aggies a 10-9 advantage. UC San Diego's Miles Wilson netted a power play goal at 3:22 to tie it again and force extra play.

The Tritons scored first in the overtime period when Karlo Krmek drew a five-meter penalty shot and put it past Aggie keeper Aaron Wilson at the 1:54 mark. UC Davis tallied the next two goals, the first by Logan Anderson at 1:28 and the go-ahead by Ben Fleming at 1:07. However, Trevor Moore scored for the Tritons with less than a minute remaining to tie it at 12-12.

Neither team was able to score in the second overtime.

Wilson ended his day with four goals, the fifth time this season he has tallied multiple goals. Calder Hilde-Jones, Krmek, and Moore all had two goals apiece.

Alexander Nemeth was solid in the cage for UC San Diego, making a career-high 14 saves.

For UC Davis, Fleming had three goals and Wilson had nine stops in net.

UC San Diego was coming off a spectacular 14-13 win over No. 17 Loyola Marymount Wednesday night. Vedran Latkovic scored the winner with just 15 seconds left in regulation in front of over 900 fans at home.

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QUOTABLE FROM HEAD COACH DENNY HARPER
It can't get much closer than that.

Disappointed that we didn't get another last possession win in regulation.

Any sudden victory period can certainly go either way.

We'll look forward to another battle with the Aggies in November.

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TRITON TIDBITS
• The nation's top-11 teams plus No. 13, No. 16, and No. 17 are competing in Berkeley.
• Though UC San Diego and UC Davis are Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) rivals, today's game was a non-conference contest.
• UC San Diego has totaled 172 goals over 11 matches, just under 16 goals per game.
• Calder Hilde-Jones has scored at least one goal in all 11 games this season.
• It was the first time this season that Vedran Latkovic didn't score. He tallied at least one goal in all 10 games prior to today.
• For the season, Latkovic leads the Tritons with 24 goals and is followed by Hilde-Jones with 21.
• Miles Wilson has now scored in nine of 11 games.
• Alexander Nemeth's previous career-high for saves was 13, which he collected in each of the first two games of this season (Pepperdine and Long Beach State).

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UP NEXT
UC San Diego takes on No. 17 Loyola Marymount on Saturday at 8 a.m. for the second time in four days. The Lions lost to No. 3 Stanford on Friday by a score of 13-8. At noon, the Tritons go up against No. 13 UC Irvine, which fell to No. 5 UC Santa Barbara, 15-8, Friday. The Tritons will play once more on Sunday to close out the MPSF Invitational. 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.