LA JOLLA, Calif. – The 13th-ranked UC San Diego women's water polo team won its opening Big West Conference match Saturday, defeating No. 25 CSUN 11-5 at Canyonview Pool.
With their fourth-consecutive victory, the Tritons improved to 12-7 overall. The Matadors dropped to 8-6 on the year and 0-2 in the Big West.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego held a narrow lead over CSUN for much of the match, finally pulling away with three straight goals to end the contest.
In the first period,
Taylor Onstott had two assists,
Holly Maine two goals, and
Courtney Okumura a goal and an assist, giving UC San Diego a 3-1 lead. The second and third periods were more defense-oriented, with the Tritons scoring three goals to the Matadors' two.
In the fourth period, CSUN threatened to bring the match back into reach. The Matadors scored a goal at 4:54 to cut the deficit to 7-4 and, following Okumura's second goal of the game, scored once more on the powerplay, bringing the score to 8-5. In the final three and a half minutes, UC San Diego deposited three unanswered goals, two from
Annika Arroyo and one from
Chloe Pena.
Five different players accounted for CSUN's goal total. Goalie Meghan Lopez made 11 stops in net for the Matadors, including several point-blank rejections.
TRITON TIDBITS
- Lucky Number Seven – Seven different Tritons recorded goals in this match, with Arroyo leading the team with three, followed by Okumura and Maine, who netted two goals each.
- Goal Streak Grows – Ciara Franke has now recorded at least one goal in all 15 matches she has competed in this season, totaling 39 goals. Franke recorded one goal against CSUN.
- Records Watch – Bennett Bugelli recorded seven more saves against CSUN, bringing her career total up to 736 career saves. In the win over UCSB at the Kalbus Invitational, Bugelli moved up to third all-time, passing Maryam Hadiashar, 697 saves, and Leona Mason, 701 saves. This season, she has already leapt up from ninth place after making 25 saves at the UCSB Winter Invite. Next on the list is Jefi Paulsen with 852 saves.
| Goalie Saves |
Player Name |
Years Played |
| 1,465 saves |
Courtney Miller |
2013-2016 |
| 852 saves |
Jefi Paulsen |
1987-1990 |
| 736 saves |
Bennett Bugelli |
2017- |
| 701 saves |
Leona Mason |
1993-1996 |
| 697 saves |
Maryam Hadiashar |
1997-2000 |
- History with Every Win – With the win over CSUN, head coach Brad Kreutzkamp moved up to 255 career wins, after already having surpassed his former head coach and mentor Denny Harper earlier this season for the program record.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego (12-7, 1-0 BWC) vs. Long Beach State (9-9, 0-0 BWC)
Friday, March 11 at 6:00 pm
Canyonview Aquatics Center – La Jolla, 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 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.
