BERKELEY, Calif. – In its final game at the Nor Cal Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Invitational Sunday, the ninth-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team was edged by No. 11 San Jose State, 14-11.

The Tritons are now 9-5 overall after finishing 2-2 at the tournament, which was hosted by Cal.

The Spartans moved to 7-8 on the season.

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HOW IT HAPPENED
Tied 13-13, UC San Diego was called for a penalty with only 22 seconds remaining in regulation. SJSU's Bende Pardi converted on the 5-meter penalty shot, which proved to be the game-winning goal.

The contest was tight the whole way through.

Manuel Augusto scored on a power play with 12 seconds left in the opening quarter to put the Tritons up 4-3. UC San Diego led 7-5 at halftime as Vedran Latkovic scored twice and Kaden Likins netted one in the second quarter.

The Spartans scored the first two goals of the third quarter to even the game at 7-7. Calder Hilde-Jones found the back of the net to put UC San Diego back in front, but San Jose State answered to tie it, 8-8. Hilde-Jones struck again with 2:03 left in the quarter to make it 9-8, but again the Spartans would knot it up at 1:16. With two seconds left on the clock, Latkovic scored another to give UC San Diego a 10-9 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

As in the third frame, the Spartans scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter, taking their first lead, 11-10, since it was 2-1 in the first stanza. Later trailing 12-11, Latkovic and Hilde-Jones tallied back-to-back goals to give the lead back to the Tritons, 13-12. Pardi then took the reins, scoring the tying goal at the 2:35 mark before hitting the game-winner just over two minutes later.

Latkovic ended his day with six goals, the most by any Triton in a single game this season. Hilde-Jones had three scores and Likins had two. Augusto and Jack Ranj finished with one goal each.

Alexander Nemeth made 12 saves in the cage for UC San Diego, the sixth time this season he's hit a double-digit save total.  

For San Jose State, Pardi led offensively with four goals. Laszlo Szieben added three. Keeper Yahav Fire had 12 saves.
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TRITON TIDBITS
• The nation's top-11 teams plus No. 13, No. 16, and No. 17 were competing in Berkeley.
• At the tourney, UC San Diego defeated No. 13 UC Irvine and No. 17 Loyola Marymount, while losing against No. 7 UC Davis and No. 11 San Jose State.
• Calder Hilde-Jones scored a team-high 12 goals over the four matches.
• Kaden Likins totaled eight goals during the tourney.
• Vedran Latkovic netted seven goals in Berkeley.
• UC San Diego has totaled 213 goals over 14 matches, an average of 15.2 goals per game.
• Hilde-Jones and Latkovic are now tied for the team lead in goals with 31.
• Hilde-Jones has scored at least one goal in all 14 games this season.

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UP NEXT
UC San Diego travels to Colorado Springs, Colo., to take on Air Force in a Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) match-up on Friday, Oct. 1 at 6 p.m.

For the team's 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.