LONG BEACH, Calif. — The 13th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team out-scored No. 7 Long Beach State in the second half but it wasn't enough as the Tritons fell by a score of 14-10 Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles County.

The non-conference loss dropped UC San Diego to 3-6, while Long Beach State improved to 7-3.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Beach scored the first goal of the game at 6:01 of the first quarter and never trailed. The Tritons tied it up at 1-1 on a goal by Max Abravanel, but LBSU netted the next three goals and stayed ahead for good.

Long Beach led 5-2 after one quarter, 9-4 at halftime, and 13-8 after three periods.

In the fourth quarter, the Tritons scored two goals while the Beach found the net just once. With 2:23 remaining in the game and the Tritons trailing 14-8, Manuel Augusto scored his 12th goal of the season. Max Carrillo scored the final goal of the game with 39 ticks left on the clock, his 10th score this year.

Vedran Latkovic continued his scoring ways for UC San Diego, tallying a pair Saturday. The Montenegrin now has 24 this season, five of those coming in the last two days.

Including Augusto and Carrillo, eight Tritons had single goals.

Alexander Nemeth recorded a complete game and made seven saves for UC San Diego.

For the Beach, Rafael Real Vergara led all players with four goals. Matt Morris added three, while Evan Cain scored twice. Andrej Bosanac made four save in net.

TRITON TIDBITS
• Latkovic has scored multiple goals in seven of nine games played. He leads the team in goals (24) and points (32).
• Rhys Bugelli scored a single goal today and is the lone Triton to have scored in all nine of the team's games this season.
• Miles Wilson extended his scoring streak to seven games with a single goal at Long Beach State.
• Freshman Luca Rago tallied his fifth goal of the season today.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego's annual Battle of the Kings is set for Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 6 p.m. when Loyola Marymount visits Canyonview Aquatic Center in La Jolla. Last season's edition saw almost 1,000 fans witness the Tritons defeat the Lions when Latkovic scored the winner with just 15 seconds remaining in regulation.

Tickets for home matches are available for purchase here. UC San Diego students are admitted free to all home games.
 
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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.