LOS ANGELES - Three Tritons registered hat tricks and Alexander Nemeth made 18 saves as the 11th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team defeated No. 12 Loyola Marymount by a score of 13-10 Saturday in a Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championships semifinal.

Third-seeded UC San Diego advances to the finals and will face fifth-ranked and top-seeded UC Davis for the conference title Sunday at 1 p.m.

With the victory in LMU's home pool at the Burns Aquatics Center, the Tritons improved to 14-12 on the season. The Lions, the tournament's second seed, dropped to 16-9.

HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego got three goals apiece from Bennett Axline, Vedran Latkovic, and Brendan Nugent. Nugent added two assists to finish his day with five points, a new career high.

Four other Tritons scored single goals including Brendon Fezzey, Connor McManigal, Matthew Wastila, and Miles Wilson.

For Nemeth, the 18 saves were one short of his career high of 19, which he recorded against LMU back on Sept. 21 of this season. The senior keeper has made 10 or more saves 10 times in 2022.

UC San Diego led for a majority of the game. The only time the Tritons trailed was when LMU scored back-to-back goals in the second quarter to go ahead 4-3. However, Miles Wilson scored 19 seconds later to tie it up and Axline's second goal of the game at the 3:24 mark of the first period put UC San Diego back in front, where it would stay the rest of the way.

In front 6-4 coming out of the halftime break, Nugent and Latkovic netted consecutive goals to put the Tritons up 8-4. Following a Lion goal by Davis Carrasco, Nugent and McManigal went back-to-back to give UC San Diego a 10-5 advantage, its largest lead of the game.

The fourth quarter saw Loyola Marymount out-score UC San Diego, 4-3. An Axline power play goal with 2:36 remaining had the Tritons up 11-7. However, the Lions rallied by scoring two straight goals to get within two at 11-9. UC San Diego quashed the comeback bid as Nugent and Latkovic added goals with about a minute left to play, giving the Tritons a four-point cushion.

Blazo Mitrovic scored four goals for LMU, while Carrasco and Kade Margain each had a pair. Goalie Stelios Dalmaras made five saves in the game.

The Lions out-shot the Tritons 39-28, but the stellar play of Nemeth kept the ball out of the net.

Both squads had two power play goals.

HEAR FROM FORMER HEAD COACH DENNY HARPER


TRITON TIDBITS
• It was the fourth time the two teams have met this season and the series finished even at 2-2.
• Vedran Latkovic extended his scoring streak to 19 games.
• It was the third hat trick of the season for Brendan Nugent, who has scored four times over two games at the WWPA Championships.
• Brendon Fezzey has an eight-game scoring streak that includes both contests at the tournament.
• Matthew Wastila has scored a goal in each of the Tritons' two games at the WWPA Championships.
• The Tritons are looking for their 20th WWPA title.
• UC Davis defeated Santa Clara Saturday to earn its spot in the final against UC San Diego.
• UC San Diego is 0-1 against UC Davis this season, dropping a tight 8-7 decision on Nov. 5 in La Jolla.
• Earlier this week, Vedran Latkovic was named All-WWPA First Team, Rhys Bugelli was selected All-WWPA Second Team, Alexander Nemeth picked up All-WWPA Honorable Mention, and Bennett Axline was tabbed the WWPA Freshman of the Year

For complete results and ticket information, visit Tournament Central.

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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.