SAN DIEGO – The 15th-ranked UC San Diego women's water polo team wrapped up action at San Diego State's Aztec Invite Sunday, defeating St. Francis before falling to 13th-ranked Princeton.

Scores from the Aztec Aquaplex were 12-9 over St. Francis and 11-10 in favor of Princeton.

The Tritons finished the two-day, four-game tournament with a 3-1 record. Saturday, they defeated both Siena (16-3) and Villanova (16-6). They scored a total of 54 goals over the four contests, good for a 13.5 goals per game average.

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HOW IT HAPPENED - ST. FRANCIS
UC San Diego scored the first five goals of the game, two of those coming from Annika Arroyo. St. Francis didn't get on the board until halfway through the second quarter.

Carson Rampelberg's goal with just under 30 seconds until halftime put the Tritons up by six, 8-2, which was their largest lead of the game.

Later trailing by six again at 9-3, the Saints reeled off four-straight goals to get themselves back in the game, down by just two with 5:36 left. However, Courtney Okumura and Caroline Christl tallied back-to-back goals, making it 11-7 Tritons. St. Francis' Taylor Halbauer then scored two-straight goals, one with 3:30 left on the clock and the other at the 2:14 mark, and the Saints were back within two, 11-9.

St. Francis would turn the ball over twice in the final 1:40 and Triton Maja Layden scored with 1:12 remaining to cement the win for UC San Diego.

Arroyo, Layden, and Okumura each finished with two goals. Okumura also added a pair of assists to her totals.

Six of nine Princeton goals came from Halbauer.

UC San Diego used three goalies in the game. Starter Lexi Stahl played the first half, giving up just two goals and making three saves to earn the win. In the second half, Bria Zwaschka had three saves and Katie Ward had two.

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HOW IT HAPPENED - PRINCETON
Down by five goals, 11-6, late in the third quarter, UC San Diego went on a 4-0 scoring run to get back within one. Four different Tritons found the net during the spree including Grayson Mix, Christl, Arroyo, and Kendall Thomas. The Mix strike came in the third quarter while the other three were scored in the fourth. Thomas' goal made it 11-10 Princeton with 1:05 left in the game. In the waning moments, Thomas was able to get off another shot, but it was turned aside by Tiger goalkeeper Lindsey Lucas.

Thomas scored the first goal of the game just 31 seconds in and that proved to be the only time UC San Diego would lead in the game. Princeton scored the next three goals of the quarter and they would not trail again. The Tritons were able to tie it up once when Arroyo found the net at the 1:45 mark of the second period, but the Tigers again tallied three-consecutive goals and stayed ahead for the rest of the contest.

Arroyo finished with a hat trick for UC San Diego. Christl and Thomas each scored twice. Lexi Stahl made five saves in the loss.

Jovana Sekulic scored five times for Princeton, while Ava Houlahan had three goals. Lindsay Lucas made seven saves to earn the victory.

Shots were 24-33 in favor of UC San Diego. The Tritons were 3-for-9 on the power play while the Tigers went scoreless in eight opportunities. 

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TRITON TIDBITS
• Annika Arroyo (seven goals, two assists) and Courtney Okumura (six goals, three assists) had a team-leading nine points over the four games.
• Arroyo and Caroline Christl were the goal leaders for the Tritons during the tourney, each with seven.
• The Tritons ran off three-straight wins during the tourney, their longest streak of the season.
• Grayson Mix scored a goal in three of four games.
• UC San Diego lost at Princeton on January 28 by the same 11-10 score.

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UP NEXT
The Tritons return to Big West play when they host Cal State Fullerton on Friday, March 17, at 5 p.m. Tickets for all home games are available through the Triton Box Office.

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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.