LA JOLLA, Calif. - In its final Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) regular season game of the year, the 13th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team was edged, 8-7, by fifth-ranked UC Davis Saturday at Canyonview Aquatic Center.

The Tritons fell to 11-12 on the season and ended their conference slate with a 6-2 mark. The Aggies improved to 16-7 overall and posted a perfect 8-0 record in conference action.

The game solidified the top three seeds for the upcoming WWPA Championship with UC Davis going in as No. 1, Loyola Marymount (7-1) at No. 2, and UC San Diego at No. 3.

The WWPA Championship tournament is slated for Nov. 18-20 at LMU's Burns Aquatics Center in Los Angeles.

UC San Diego will open tourney play against California Baptist, the No. 6 seed, at noon on Nov. 18.

For all of the first round match-ups, visit TOURNAMENT CENTRAL.

HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego grabbed a 1-0 lead when Brendon Fezzey scored the first of his two goals with just under three minutes left in the opening quarter.

A Vedran Latkovic goal to begin the second quarter gave the home squad a 2-0 lead. However, UC Davis, which couldn't find the back of the net in the first quarter, scored four unanswered goals to take a 4-2 lead into halftime.

The third quarter saw the teams trade goals over the first half of the frame, with UC San Diego's courtesy of Manuel Augusto. With UC Davis ahead 5-3, the Tritons scored back-to-back goals to even it up, the first coming from Fezzey and the second from Kaden Likins. The Aggies put one more on the board with just two seconds left in the third to regain the lead, which they would not surrender the rest of the way.

Both teams scored twice in the fourth period. With 1:09 left, Latkovic tallied his third goal of the night to get the Tritons back within one at 8-7, but that would prove to be the final goal of the game.

It marked the 13th time this season that Latkovic scored at least three goals in a game. He tacked on an assist to finish his night with four points. Both Fezzey (two goals, assist) and Likins (one goal, two assists) totaled three points. Likins now has a team-best 28 assists in 2022.

Triton goalkeeper Alexander Nemeth logged a solid performance in net, making 15 saves to equal his second-highest total this season.

The Aggies went 0-for-7 on the power play, while the Tritons scored three times in 12 extra-man situations. Two of UC Davis' goals came on five-meter penalty shots.

Three Aggies scored two goals each including Logan Anderson, Aleix Aznar Beltran, and Levi Murtaugh. Aaron Wilson made 10 saves in goal.

WHAT HEAD COACH MATT USTASZEWSKI HAD TO SAY
"It was a great atmosphere for collegiate men's water polo and a share of the regular season conference title came down to the final shot. I'm really proud of how our scholar-athletes responded to a very physcial and agressive team. We are gearing up for the most important stretch of the season and are looking forward to playing our best when it matters most."

TRITON TIDBITS
• With two goals and an assist, Brendon Fezzey established a new career-high with three points.
• Fezzey's two goals matched his career-high, set earlier this season against UC Santa Barbara.
• Alexander Nemeth has recorded 10 or more saves eight times this season.
• Rhys Bugelli went scoreless today for the first time this season. He has scored at least once in 22 of 23 games.
• Vedran Latkovic leads the Tritons in goals with 62 and points with 83.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego hosts non-conference opponent UC Irvine on Thursday, November 10, at 6 p.m. to close out the regular season. It will be Senior Night with eight Tritons being recognized before the game. PURCHASE TICKETS 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 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.