DAVIS, Calif. – Caroline Christl scored five goals and Lexi Stahl made 13 saves in net as the 18th-ranked UC San Diego women's water polo team defeated No. 10 UC Davis, 10-9, in Big West action Friday on the road.

The Tritons improved to 10-16 overall and 2-3 in the Big West, while the Aggies dropped to 14-11 and 2-2.

It was the third meeting between the teams in 2023 and the victory gave UC San Diego a 2-1 lead in the season series. Friday's game was the first of the three to count in the conference standings.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Tied 6-6 with 1:17 remaining in the third quarter, Christl scored her fourth goal of the game, a power play strike, that put the Tritons up 7-6 and they were able to stay in front the rest of the way. Stahl made three saves over the final 9:17 of the game to help preserve the UC San Diego victory.

UC Davis scored two quick goals to take a 2-0 lead just 1:27 into the game. The period would end with the Aggies leading, 3-1.

Christl scored her first and second goals of the day back-to-back early in the second quarter to even it at 3-3. The first came on a power play. Later trailing 4-3, the redshirt sophomore found the net again, this time at the 2:24 mark of the second to tie the score at 4-4.

With just 28 seconds left until halftime, UC Davis regained a lead, 5-4, on a Kelly Hungerford goal.

The third quarter proved to be pivotal for UC San Diego as it out-scored UC Davis, 4-2. Coming back from the break, the Tritons wasted little time knotting up the score when Kendall Thomas scored just 15 seconds in. Another Thomas goal at 5:04 allowed the Tritons to take their first lead, 6-5. The game was tied one final time when UCD's Gianna Nocetti scored at 3:15 to bring it to 6-6.

Lucia Doak had a pair of assists for the Tritons, while Annika Arroyo finished with a goal and an assist. Stahl had a steal in the game to up her season total to 32, a team-high.

For the Aggies, Nocetti led the offense with three goals. Hungerford and Madison Sparre had two apiece.

UC Davis held a 33-30 advantage in shots.
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WHAT HEAD COACH BRAD KREUTZKAMP HAD TO SAY
"Clearly, getting a conference win is always great. Getting a road conference win is even better. I'm very proud of the team for coming back several times and staying the course to grind it out. It was a really tough win. That Davis team is fantastic and we probably played one of our better games of the year. We're hoping to keep it rolling through the next two weeks of the season to get some momentum for the conference tournament."
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TRITON TIDBITS
• Caroline Christl's scoring streak now stands at 12 games. She has scored multiple goals in eight of those games.
• Among all Big West players, Courtney Okumura ranks third in assists (36) and seventh in points (63).
• It was the sixth time this season that Lexi Stahl has finished with a double-digit save total.
• Stahl ranks fifth in assists in the Big West with 32 on the season.
• In the previous two meeting between the Tritons and Aggies this season, UC San Diego won the first (8-7) and UC Davis won the second (9-6).
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UP NEXT
UC San Diego plays at Big West opponent CSUN on April 15 at noon.
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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.