STANFORD, Calif. - The 14th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team split a pair of matches Saturday at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Invitational, hosted by Stanford.

In the morning contest, the Tritons defeated 10th-ranked Loyola Marymount by a score of 14-8. In the afternoon, they were edged by No. 11 Pepperdine, 12-11.

UC San Diego now holds a 4-9 season record and will play its fourth and final match of the tournament against No. 9 San Jose State on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.   

The stacked tournament field at Stanford also includes No. 1 Cal, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Stanford, No. 4 Pacific, No. 5 USC, No. 6 UC Davis, No. 7 Long Beach State, No. 8 UC Santa Barbara, No. 13 UC Irvine, No. 16 Fordham, Pomona-Pitzer, and Santa Clara.

HOW IT HAPPENED #1
UC San Diego never trailed against Loyola Marymount.

Bennett Axline scored the game's first goal on a power play just 44 seconds in. The Lions tied it at 1-1 and again at 2-2, but the Tritons struck for four unanswered goals and held a 6-2 lead early in the second quarter.

Following two power play strikes by LMU, UC San Diego netted five-straight goals that spanned the final three minutes of the second quarter and the first 1:22 of the third, elevating the Triton lead to seven at 11-4.

LMU scored the next three goals of the game in the third quarter, getting back within four at 11-7. Brendon Fezzey gave UC San Diego its 12th goal just before the third period came to an end.

In the fourth, the scoring was a bit more sparse as both teams combined for just three goals. Vedran Latkovic and Matthew Wastila put two more on the board for the Tritons, while Lion Rafeal Salonikios found the net between the two UC San Diego goals.

Latkovic played a huge role in the victory, scoring five goals to lead the Tritons. Axline and Rhys Bugelli had two goals each. Bugelli added an assist and two steals while drawing three ejections. Axline drew five ejections on LMU players and UC San Diego scored five of its goals on the power play.

Triton keeper Alexander Nemeth made six saves.

For the Lions, David Carrasco, Blazo Mitrovic, and Jonny Rimlinger accounted for a majority of LMU's goals, each scoring twice. Goalie Stelios Delmaras finished with six saves.

The Tritons held a slight 24-22 advantage in shots taken.

HOW IT HAPPENED #2
UC San Diego held a lead over Pepperdine after each of the first three quarters.

Axline and Latkovic picked up where they left off - scoring. The Tritons took a 2-0 lead after Axline scored at the 6:01 mark and Latkovic followed at 5:11. After the Waves scored their first goal, UC San Diego got one from Kaden Likins and the Tritons had a 3-1 lead after the opening quarter.

Pepperdine out-scored UC San Diego, 4-3, in the second quarter, but the Tritons were still in the lead, 6-5, at the half.

Both teams added three goals onto their totals in the third period. Bugelli scored twice and Axline found the net yet again as well.

Going into the final quarter trailing 9-8, the Waves came out strong, scoring four consecutive times to take their first lead of the game at 12-9. Four different players accounted for the surge. Over the final four minutes of the game, the Tritons got goals from Likins and Max Abravanel, but that was the last of the scoring.

Bugelli had three goals and an assist, while Axline and Likins finished with two goals apiece. Nemeth made 10 saves and recorded his first assist of the season. 

Adam Csapo scored four goals for Pepperdine. Travis Reynolds netted a pair and six other Waves had single goals. Justin Edward made 11 saves in net. 

TRITON TIDBITS
• The win over LMU came just three days after the two teams met in La Jolla with the Lions coming out on top in sudden victory overtime.
• Latkovic has totaled 10 points on nine goals and an assist over three tournament games so far this weekend.
• Bugelli has six goals during the tourney and is the lone Triton to have scored in all 13 of the team's games.
• Axline has scored multiple goals in his last five games, which includes two in each of the Tritons' three tournament contests at Stanford.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego concludes play at the MPSF Invitational Sunday at 11:30 a.m. as the Tritons take on No. 9 San Jose State. The game can be followed with live stats.

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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.