LOS ANGELES - The 14th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team lost to No. 3 UCLA Saturday by a score of 17-6 at the Spieker Aquatics Complex in Los Angeles.

The Tritons had their five-match win streak snapped and are now 9-10 on the season. The Bruins improved to 16-1. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 
UCLA scored the first four goals of the game in the first quarter and never looked back.

True freshman Bennett Axline got UC San Diego on the board with his 34th goal of the season at the 3:13 mark of the first quarter. 

The Bruins held an 8-3 lead at the half and outscored the Tritons 9-3 in the second half.

In the fourth quarter, five goals were scored - three by UCLA and two by UC San Diego - in the final two and-a-half minutes. Strikes by Rhys Bugelli and Manuel Augusto book ended three consecutive goals by the Bruins.

Augusto totaled three points in the game on a goal and a pair of assists. Vedran Latkovic and Kaden Likins finished with two points, both collecting a goal and an assist. Brendon Fezzey also scored for the Tritons.

In goal for UC San Diego, Alexander Nemeth made six saves on the afternoon.

Jake Cavano and Andy Rogers both scored three times for UCLA. Garret Griggs made 12 stops in goal.

The Tritons scored four goals on nine power play opportunities. 

TRITON TIDBITS
• The Tritons' five-game win streak was their longest since they reeled off 11-straight victories during the 2019 season.
• Bugelli continued his net-finding ways to remain the only Triton to score in all 19 of the team's games.
• Latkovic extended his scoring streak to 12 games with multiple goals coming in 10 of those.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego hosts Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) opponent Santa Clara on Friday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. PURCHASE TICKETS

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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 III and II 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.