IRVINE, Calif. – The No. 11 UC San Diego women's water polo team dropped its first two games at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational Friday at UC Irvine's Anteater Aquatics Complex, falling to No. 1 UCLA 15-7 before coming up short against No. 10 UC Davis in an 11-8 loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Against UCLA, the Tritons fell behind early and were unable to recover despite a late surge. UCLA began the match with seven unanswered goals, a barrage that was cut off by a goal from
Annika Arroyo with 5:13 remaining in the second period.
UCLA came right back though, unleashing another six unanswered goals before
Lucia Doak put in a shot on the power play to bring the score to 13-2. UC San Diego would come into its own in the fourth period though, outscoring UCLA 4-1 in that span, with two goals from
Lauren Bellavia.
In their second match of the day, the Tritons kept the score close with fellow Big West team UC Davis throughout. UC San Diego scored its first three goals of the match on the power play, with Arroyo opening the scoring again for the Tritons. After heading out of halftime down 6-5,
Courtney Okumura knotted the score at 6-6, and
Taylor Onstott responded five minutes later with another game-tying goal, bringing the score to 7-7.
UC Davis would not be denied though, scoring a buzzer beater to end the third period and netting three more goals in the fourth as part of a run of. 4-0 run to bring the score to 11-7.
Ciara Franke scored her third goal of the match with just under two minutes remaining, cutting the deficit to 11-8, but the damage had already been done.
QUOTABLE
"A couple losses like these are to be expected throughout the whole year," said UC San Diego head coach
Brad Kreutzkamp. "We battle with a lot of teams, especially in our conference, and they can go either way any night. We're in a good head space and we know that this is a long marathon, not a sprint."
TRITON TIDBITS
Goal Streak Grows – Ciara Franke has now recorded at least one goal in all 10 matches she has competed in this season, totaling 25. Franke recorded three goals and an assist in the loss to UC Davis on Friday.
- Records Watch – Bennett Bugelli recorded 11 more saves across two matches on the first day of the Kalbus Invitational, bringing her career total up to 690 career saves, good for fifth all time. This season, she has already leapt up from ninth place after making 25 saves at the UCSB Winter Invite. Next on the list is Maryam Hadiashar with 697 saves.
| Goalie Saves |
Player Name |
Years Played |
| 1,465 saves |
Courtney Miller |
2013-2016 |
| 852 saves |
Jefi Paulsen |
1987-1990 |
| 701 saves |
Leona Mason |
1993-1996 |
| 697 saves |
Maryam Hadiashar |
1997-2000 |
| 690 saves |
Bennett Bugelli |
2017- |
UP NEXT
UC San Diego's Saturday and Sunday schedules are to be determined by other tournament results.
UC San Diego (8-6, 0-0 BW) vs Loyola Marymount or Indiana
Saturday, Feb 26 at 1:30 pm (Non-conference)
Barbara Kalbus Invitational – Marian Bergeson Aquatics Center - Corona del Mar HS
Tournament Page
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 37 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 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
