LA JOLLA, Calif. – In their second day of action this season, the No. 9 UC San Diego Tritons split a pair of games, with a 10-9 overtime win against No. 19 Princeton and 11-6 loss to No. 3 UCLA. UC San Diego is now 2-2 on the season.
Annika Arroyo led the offense with six goals on the day, all scored against Princeton.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons began the day against Princeton by going up 3-2 in the first quarter, thanks to two penalty shots from
Ciara Franke, and maintained that margin heading into halftime, leading 6-5 thanks to three second-quarter goals by
Annika Arroyo, who finished with six in the game.
With only one goal for each team in the third quarter, the Tritons led 7-6 heading into the fourth quarter, but a pair of Princeton goals would force overtime after
Taylor Onstott scored UC San Diego's eighth goal of the contest. Knotted up at 8-8, the score moved to 9-9 after the first period of overtime before Arroyo sealed the game with a goal on a penalty shot.
Against third-ranked UCLA, the Tritons went down early, trailing 4-2 at the end of the first quarter and 6-4 at the end of the first half. UCLA broke things open when they scored three unanswered goals in the third quarter, even with
Bennett Bugelli making four saves for UC San Diego. The Tritons were unable to comeback in the fourth quarter though, scoring two goals and ceding a pair to reach the 11-6 final score.
QUOTABLE
"It's a bit surreal getting that record, I'm not sure it's set in yet," said UC San Diego head coach
Brad Kreutzkamp. "Looking back at all the athletes that have come and gone it's mind blowing, but every single one of them had a hand in this. Having two amazing associate head coaches in Jenna Williamson and
Nicki Davidson was critical and I can't thank them enough."
TRITON TIDBITS
- History Made – With the overtime win against Princeton, head coach Brad Kreutzkamp became the all-time winningest coach in UC San Diego women's water polo history with 246, passing current Tritons men's water polo head coach Denny Harper. Said coach Kreutzkamp on the accomplishment: "It's simply mind blowing to be on any list with [Denny Harper]. As the father of women's water polo here at UCSD, I hope he's proud that one of his assistant coaches was the one to catch him. I've learned so much from him and it's pretty cool to be with him on this list now."
- Holding it Down – In the first four games of the UCSB Winter Invite, UC San Diego held opponents to less than eleven goals in each, with the opposition being held to single-digits against each opponent other than UCLA. "We definitely are doing well on individual defense, in particular in the cage and 2-meter defense, [though] our team defense has a way to go" said coach Kreutzkamp. "We'll get there but it certainly is something we need to work on."
- Two-Way Players – Ciara Franke and Annika Arroyo combined for 11 goals and four steals across the two matches on Sunday.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego (2-2, 0-0 BW) vs Biola (1-1)
Saturday, January 29 at 9:15 am (Non-conference)
Lancer Joust – Riverside, California
UC San Diego (2-2, 0-0 BW) vs Pomona-Pitzer (0-1)
Saturday, January 29 at 1 pm (Non-conference)
Lancer Joust – Riverside, California
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 38 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
