LA JOLLA, Calif. — The third-seeded UC San Diego men's water polo team saw its season come to a close Saturday as it was narrowly defeated by second-seeded UC Santa Barbara, 13-11, in overtime in a Big West Championship semifinal.

The Tritons, who are hosting the six-team, three-day tournament, finish 2023 with a 17-13 overall record. The Gauchos improve to 17-12 and will face top-seeded UC Irvine in Sunday's title game at 1 p.m.

In Saturday's early semi, UCI downed the No. 4 seed UC Davis, 11-10, to propel the Anteaters into the championship game.

It is the first Big West Men's Water Polo Championship to take place in over 30 years.

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HOW IT HAPPENED
With the score tied 11-11 and 2:14 remaining in the second of two three-minute overtime periods, UC Santa Barbara's Dash McFarland found the net to put the Gauchos in front. Both squads then traded ejections as well as timeouts. The Tritons threatened, but were unable to score the equalizer and, with one second left on the clock, UCSB's Adam Gyenis fired a pool-length shot that made its way into the empty net at the other end to account for the final score.

UC San Diego came out of the gate strong and led 5-2 after one quarter of play. Bennett Axline and Lucas Romaguera each scored twice for the Tritons in the period.

In the second quarter, UC Santa Barbara started a 5-0 run that spilled over into the third. Gyenis tallied three of those goals, including the first and the last during the spree, which resulted in an 8-5 Gaucho advantage with 4:12 left in the third.   

The Tritons responded with three consecutive goals to get right back in it. Axline, Kaden Likins, and Romaguera all scored to bring it even at 8-8 heading into the fourth quarter.

UC Santa Barbara scored first, 41 seconds into the fourth. Romaguera tallied his fourth and final goal of the game just 20 seconds later to knot it at 9-9. The teams traded goals again with UCSB's Shane Hoover scoring at the 6:20 mark and UC San Diego's Rhys Bugelli answering 29 seconds later to bring the score to 10-10. It marked the final goal of regulation.

At 1:59 of the first overtime, Gyenis scored to put the Gauchos back in front, but Triton Felipe Ferreira opened the second OT with a goal at 2:34 to tie the game for the seventh time at 11-11. Just 20 seconds later, McFarland struck for what would prove to be the game-winner.

Romaguera's four goals established a new single-game high for the junior from Brazil. He also had two assists and the six points were a fresh career-best as well.

Axline finished with four points on a hat trick and an assist.

Playing in his final career game, Likins had three points on a goal and a pair of helpers. For the season, the senior led the Tritons in points (84) and assists (49).

In goal for UC San Diego, Logan Estes made 13 stops, one short of his career-high. 

Gyenis ended up with six goals and an assist for the Gauchos. Levin Lentin had 14 saves.

UC San Diego out-shot UC Santa Barbara 40-31. Both teams scored three power play goals.

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WHAT HEAD COACH MATT USTASZEWSKI HAD TO SAY
"Obviously we are all disappointed that our season has come to an end today, but I'm so incredibly proud of our scholar-athletes and our entire staff. Today's game was an instant classic, one where we gave everything we could to win but unfortunately fell short in overtime. Our athletes' mindset and preparation was exemplary and their fighting spirit is something that I'll never forget.

Our seniors provided incredible leadership during the expected challenges of moving into the Big West Conference. We are sad to say goodbye to them but are very excited for the group that we have returning.

Credit goes to UC Santa Barbara, as both teams battled back and forth, weathered emotional runs, and fought to the very end.

I would also like to acknowledge our athletic department and the Big West for running a truly impressive conference championship tournament. The excitement and intensity of our conference is real and anyone who visited La Jolla this weekend can see the genuine growth of men's collegiate water polo stemming from the parity within our conference.

We are especially enthusiastic about the opportunity to continue to demonstrate our world class facilities here at UC San Diego next year when we host the NCAA National Championship tournament."

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TRITON TIDBITS
• Bennett Axline finished the season with a six-game scoring streak. He totaled 20 goals during the span.
• Kaden Likins had multiple assists in 14 games.
• UC San Diego is 0-3 against UC Santa Barbara this season.
• The winner of the Big West Championship earns an automatic berth in the NCAA Championship.
• 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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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.