BERKELEY, Calif. — The 13th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team kept pace with California, the country's top-ranked team and defending national champion, but ultimately fell by a score of 19-15 Saturday morning in the Bay Area.

"We knew the challenges we would face playing on the road against the defending national champion," said first-year UC San Diego head coach Matt Ustaszewski. "The effort our scholar-athletes showed in competing against a team as dangerous as Cal was impressive. We played with great resiliency and will grow as a team from this experience."

UC San Diego fell to 2-4 overall while Cal remained unbeaten at 6-0.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Cal led by just a single goal after the first (4-3) and second (10-9) quarters, but out-scored UC San Diego 9-6 in the second half to earn the win.

Sophomore Rhys Bugelli led the Tritons with five goals and senior Manuel Augusto chipped in with three. Senior Vedran Latkovic and true freshman Luca Rago each netted a pair while senior Max Carrillo, junior Kaden Likins, and sophomore Miles Wilson rounded out the scoring for UC San Diego. Likins and Wilson both had two assists as well.

Seven of the Tritons' goals came on the power play.

For Cal, Jack Deely and Jordi Gascon scored four goals apiece. Deely picked up assists on five other goals. The Golden Bears were tough defensively, finishing with 11 steals.

TRITON TIDBITS
• Vedran Latkovic continues to lead the Tritons in goals (19) and points (25).
• Rhys Bugelli, the reigning University Credit Union Athlete of the Week, is the lone Triton that has scored in all six games this season.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego returns to La Jolla to host eighth-ranked UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 6 p.m. The two squads met on Sept. 4 during the Triton Invitational with the Gauchos winning, 20-17, in overtime at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
 
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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 II and III 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.