LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego men's water polo team opened the 2021 campaign with two promising wins at the annual Triton Invite held at Canyonview Aquatic Center on Saturday, Sept. 4. The Tritons put up a total of 34 goals, tallying 17 apiece against Occidental (17-4) and No. 5 Pepperdine (17-12), cruising to an early 2-0 record on the season.
Calder Hilde-Jones and
Vedran Latkovic each netted a team-high six goals on the day. Hilde-Jones earned a hat trick in both contests, while Latkovic delivered four against the Waves and two against the Tigers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
vs. Occidental
The Tritons wasted no time in getting on the board. Hilde-Jones cashed in UC San Diego's first, third, and fourth goals of the season as his team rode the momentum for the remainder of the game.
Following the Tigers' second goal, UC San Diego went on an 8-0 run in a little over three and a half minutes.
Miles Wilson matched Hilde-Jones with three goals of his own, solidifying the hat trick with 5:34 to go in the fourth quarter.
Max Carrillo was another multi-goal (2) performer in the matchup and
Kaden Likins dished out a game-high three assists.
After three quarters of play, UC San Diego was averaging a dominant five goals per quarter.
Three different Tritons saw time in the net.
Bennett Kienast started the game and was replaced by
Alexander Nemeth for the middle quarters. Then,
Logan Estes protected the cage for the last eight minutes. Nemeth was credited with the win, producing a save percentage of .800, in addition to his four steals.
vs. No. 5 Pepperdine
Game two for the Tritons proved a bit more challenging against a competitive fifth-ranked Pepperdine program.
The goal scoring was split amongst nine players, including Latkovic who had four.
Connor McManigal,
Manuel Augusto, and
Brendan Nugent each contributed two.
There were five lead changes within the first 16 minutes. The Tritons led 9-6 at the halfway mark but Pepperdine continued to fight, keeping the deficit within three for a majority of the contest.
With 1:47 left on the clock,
Alex Zamanian found a corner pocket to put the blue and gold ahead 16-12. Then, Nugent solidified the victory, adding a much-needed insurance goal with the game winding down at 53 seconds.
Posting 13 saves in goal, Nemeth earned the win once again.
QUOTABLE
"Today was a positive start to the season and it was so great to be back in the water at Triton Pool" said Associate Head Coach Matt Ustaszewski. "It has taken significant work from a lot of different people to allow Canyonview Aquatic Center to look the way it did today. We are thrilled to be hosting the start of the 2021 NCAA men's water polo season and look forward to another exciting day of water polo tomorrow."
TRITON TIDBITS
- The last time the Tritons scored 17 goals was against Wagner (17-9) on October 5, 2019.
- 13 different Tritons found the back of the net throughout both games. Five of those athletes recorded their first goals in a Triton uniform.
- UC San Diego won the sprint seven out of eight times on the day.
- UC San Diego's overall shooting percentage in game one was .548 (17-31), while their powerplay percentage was .667 (4-6).
- The Tritons bested Pepperdine's shot percentage .429 to .375 in game two.
- UC San Diego's overall opponent records move to 17-0 with the Tigers and 11-47-1 with the Waves. The last time the Tritons beat Pepperdine was in September of 2018.
UP NEXT
The Tritons will look to close out the Triton Invite on a strong note when they take on Westcliff and Long Beach State on Sunday, Sept. 5. Game times are slated for 8 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. and will be played in Triton Pool at Canyonview Aquatic Center. For tickets, click
here.
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 83 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.
