GOLETA, Calif. — The UC San Diego men's water polo team dropped a 12-6 decision against Big West opponent UC Santa Barbara Sunday.
The Tritons fell to 13-12 overall and 2-2 in conference action. The Gauchos are now 15-12 and 2-2 in the Big West.
With one Big West game remaining for each of the six league teams, UC Davis and UC Irvine are tied for first at 3-1. Long Beach State, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara are all 2-2, while Cal State Fullerton is 0-4.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams traded goals in the opening quarter. Dash McFarland put UCSB up early before
Mason Presley found the back of the net to draw UC San Diego even at 1-1 with just over a minute remaining in the frame.
Over the next two quarters, the Gauchos out-scored the Tritons 9-2, which included a 4-0 count in the second and a 5-2 advantage in the third. Adam Gyenis scored five times over that span, which included back-to-back goals to close out the third period and put UCSB up by a score of 10-3.
Trailing 7-1 early in the third,
Eamon Hennessey netted UC San Diego's second goal of the day.
Felipe Ferreira scored the Tritons' next two goals - the first on a power play at the 1:59 mark of the third and the second just 28 seconds into the fourth - to make it 10-4 in favor of UC Santa Barbara.
Bennett Axline followed with a power play strike just over a minute later, getting the Tritons back within five at 10-5.
However, UCSB got consecutive goals from Mason Chambliss and Luke Bachler to essentially seal the victory as it put the Gauchos up 12-5 with 1:10 left to play in the game.
Triton
Landon Akerstrom netted the day's final goal with one second on the clock to account for the final score. It was his 43rd goal of the season, which leads the team.Â
Ante Buzov and
Matthew Wastila both tallied assists for the Tritons in the game.
Starting goalie
Logan Estes made six saves over three quarters of play.
Nikita Valajev played the fourth quarter and made two stops.
Levi Lentin had 13 saves for the Gauchos.Â
UC San Diego held a 30-29 edge in shots. The Tritons were 2-for-11 (.182) on the power play while the Gauchos were 0-for-5.
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TRITON TIDBITS
• The game was played at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta.
• In the national rankings, UC San Diego is 12 and UC Santa Barbara is 10.
• The Tritons were also defeated by the Gauchos, 15-11, on Sept. 30 during the Big West/WCC Clash at UC Irvine.
•
Kaden Likins (28 goals, 35 assists) and
Lucas Romaguera (33 goals, 30 assists) are tied for the team lead in points with 63.
• Eleven players made their career debuts for the Tritons on Saturday, Sept. 2, during the Triton Invitational including
Landon Akerstrom,
Jaime Bhattacharyya,
Finn Bugelli,Â
Emiliano Castro,
Felipe Ferreira,
Eamon Hennessey,
Reef Lippa,
Augi Macchi,
Mason Presley,
Nolan Roberts, and
Lucas Romaguera.
• The Big West is sponsoring men's water polo for the first time in 32 years. Its last period with the sport was 1984-91.
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UP NEXT
UC San Diego returns home to close out its regular season with three consecutive games at Canyonview Aquatic Center. First up, the Tritons play their final Big West contest against UC Davis on Saturday, Nov. 4, at noon. It will be Youth Day with an umbrella hat giveaway as well as post-game autographs by the Tritons.
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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 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.
