SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The 11th-ranked UC San Diego women's water polo team opened its 2023 season Saturday with a split at UC Santa Barbara's Winter Invitational.
The Tritons defeated Cal State Monterey Bay, 19-5, in the nightcap. In their earlier game against 14th-ranked Indiana, they came out on the losing end of a 12-10 battle.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego scored early and often against Cal State Monterey Bay. At halftime, the Tritons held an 11-2 lead after netting five goals in the first quarter and another six in the second. After scoring twice in the third frame, they struck for another six in the fourth quarter.
The Otters were held to a single goal in both the first and second quarters before tallying three in the third. UC San Diego was able to hold Cal State Monterey Bay scoreless in the final quarter.
Three of the Otters' goals came on the power play, while the Tritons scored twice with an extra player advantage.
Individually, freshman
Maja Layden led the way on offense, finishing with five goals. Junior
Annika Arroyo and sophomore
Kendall Thomas each scored twice. Rounding out the barrage for UC San Diego were
Caroline Christl, junior
Lauren Bellavia, sophomore
Kenzie Larson, sophomore
Lucia Doak, senior
Carson Rampelberg, sophomore
Abby Moll, senior
Grayson Mix,
Sydney Munatones,
Cascade Stensland, and
Allison Bartholomew with one goal apiece.
Christl, Munatones, Stensland, and Bartholomew are all freshmen.
In goal, freshman
Bria Zwaschka made her collegiate debut and finished with four saves.
In the season opener against Indiana, the teams were tied at 2-2 after one quarter of play. The Hoosiers out-scored the Tritons 3-1 in the second stanza and they stayed ahead for the remainder of the game. All three of those goals came in a three-minute span.
A goal by Arroyo at 2:16 of the third quarter brought UC San Diego back within one at 8-7 in favor of Indiana, but the Hoosiers scored a minute later to go back up by two. From that point on, the Tritons trailed by at least two goals until the final horn.
Thomas netted four goals for UC San Diego, meaning she scored six times over the day's two matches. Doak had a hat trick against CSUMB and totaled four goals on day one of the tourney.
Sophomore goalie
Lexi Stahl played all 32 minutes and was called upon to make seven saves.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego plays two more games Sunday in Santa Barbara. The Tritons face off against third-ranked UCLA at 10:30 a.m. before taking on Pomona-Pitzer at 2:45 p.m.
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 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 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America accolades, while 38 have received 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 90 percent, the highest rate among NCAA Division I and II institutions.
