SAN DIEGO – The 15th-ranked UC San Diego women's water polo team scored 32 goals over two games Saturday at San Diego State's Aztec Invite, defeating both Siena and Villanova on the first of two days at the tourney.

The score against Siena was 16-3 and the count versus Villanova was 16-6.

Redshirt sophomore Caroline Christl and freshman Maja Layden led the Tritons in the scoring department, each tallying four goals on the day. 

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HOW IT HAPPENED - SIENA
UC San Diego scored all the goals it would need early, netting six in the opening quarter. The Tritons topped that offensive output in the third quarter, scoring seven times.

Christl tallied three goals to lead all players. Appearing in her first game of the season, sophomore Sasha Frey found the back of the net twice. Layden and fellow freshman Cascade Stensland also scored a pair of goals.

The Tritons were able to get three goalkeepers into the game. Lexi Stahl started and played one quarter while freshman Bria Zwaschka played the second and fourth quarters and sophomore Katie Ward got the call in the third period. Both Zwaschka and Ward turned aside five-meter penalty shots by the Siena.

UC San Diego scored its 16 goals off of 19 shots, good for an .842 shooting percentage.

Neither team performed well on the power play with the Tritons converting on one of five opportunities and the Saints unable to capitalize on any of their six woman-up situations.

Siena scored once in the second quarter and twice in the third. Grace Boeve had two goals and Parker Thomas had one for the Saints.

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HOW IT HAPPENED - VILLANOVA
UC San Diego scored nine goals in the first half and seven in the second. The Tritons had five goals in the first quarter and another five in the fourth quarter.

Fourteen different Tritons were in the scoring column. Layden and sophomore Courtney Okumura each scored twice, while 12 other players finished with a goal apiece. Freshman Natalie DiMeo tallied her first career goal in the game.

Once again, UC San Diego had three goalies play with Stahl taking the first half and making eight saves. Zwashchka came in for the third and Ward played the final quarter. 

Emily McKenzie scored twice for the Wildcats.

The Tritons held a 20-8 advantage in shots.

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WHAT HEAD COACH BRAD KREUTZKAMP HAD TO SAY
"Today was a great bounce-back for the team after a close loss last night. I'm very happy with our resilience and how deep we went into our bench today. We're hoping to keep our first win streak of the season going tomorrow, but regardless, we're playing much better water polo."
 
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TRITON TIDBITS
• The two-game win streak is the first of the season for the Tritons
• Caroline Christl has scored 14 goals over her last six games.
• Annika Arroyo has scored at least once in 15 of 20 games played.
• Arroyo and Courtney Okumura are tied for the team lead in points, each with 38.
• Kendall Thomas has a team-high 32 goals.

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UP NEXT
The Tritons finish play at the Aztec Invite Sunday as they face off against St. Francis (10:30 a.m.) and No. 13 Princeton (12:30 p.m.).

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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 83 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Divisions I and II.