LOS ANGELES — Bennett Axline netted the game-winning goal with 35 seconds left in the game to lift UC San Diego men's water polo to a 12-11 victory over California Baptist Sunday at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Invitational at Spieker Aquatics Center.

It was the final game of the tournament for ninth-ranked UC San Diego. The Tritons went 2-2 and moved to 8-6 overall on the season. They defeated Occidental and CBU while losing to No. 4 Pepperdine and No. 12 UC Irvine.

California Baptist is now 6-8.

UCLA and USC co-hosted the tournament.

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HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half stayed close as neither team held more than a two-goal lead until a Rhys Bugelli strike with four seconds remaining in the second quarter gave UC San Diego a 6-3 advantage. All three of CBU's goals came in the first quarter.

The second half saw the Lancers out-score the Tritons, 8-6. However, CBU never took a lead.

Goals by Landon Akerstrom and Lucas Romaguera had UC San Diego with a three-goal lead at 10-7 with 4:38 left in the fourth quarter. California Baptist was responsible for four of the game's next five goals, including Cameron Cullen's power play goal with 1:02 left in the game to draw the Lancers even at 11-11.

Axline's game-winner came on a power play after Toby Baumgartner was excluded for a foul.

The Lancers had a chance to tie the game again when Triton Ante Buzov was excluded with just 18 seconds left on the clock. On the ensuing power play, Caleb Teraoka got off a shot that was turned aside by UC San Diego goalie Logan Estes, his 10th save of the morning.

Akerstrom and Bugelli led the Tritons with three goals apiece. Akerstrom assisted on two goals to finish his outing with five points. Buzov and Romaguera each had two while Axline and Miles Wilson rounded out UC San Diego's scoring with single goals. 

Cullen scored four times and Bodhi Bowden had two goals for California Baptist. Trevor Benge made six saves.

The Lancers out-shot the Tritons 29-26. UC San Diego was six-for-15 (.400) on the power play while California Baptist was four-for-17 (.235).

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WHAT HEAD COACH MATT USTASZEWSKI HAD TO SAY
"We were able to gain some valuable experience, playing in some tightly contested games. Obviously, we're disappointed to not start the game against Pepperdine the way we had anticipated, but our effort to come back and make the game competitive was critical for our development. We look forward to learning from these experiences and demonstrating our growth this upcoming week."

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TRITON TIDBITS
• In the national rankings, UC San Diego is ninth (ACWPC and CWPA), while California Baptist is 14th (ACWPC and CWPA).
• Today's game was for 11th place in the tournament.
• Also competing were California, Long Beach State, Occidental, Pepperdine, Pomona-Pitzer, Princeton, Santa Clara, Stanford, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, USC, and Whittier.
• UC San Diego went 2-2 at the tournament with wins over CBU and Occidental and losses to Pepperdine and UC Irvine.
• It was the fifth time this season that Logan Estes made 10 or more saves.
• Landon Akerstrom leads the Tritons in goals (28) and points (41) and is second in steals (19) behind Logan Estes (23). He has scored in 13 of 14 games this season with multiple goals in nine.
• Kaden Likins leads the team in assists (19).
• The Tritons are out-scoring opponents 175-141 this season.
• Eleven players made their career debuts for the Tritons on Saturday, Sept. 2, during the Triton Invitational including Akerstrom, Jaime Bhattacharyya, Finn Bugelli, 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
The annual Battle of the Kings against Loyola Marymount is set for Wednesday, Sept. 27, 6 p.m. at Canyonview Aquatic Center in La Jolla. The first 1,000 students in attendance get a free foam crown. Last year's game drew 1,350 fans to Canyonview.

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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.