IRVINE, Calif. — UC San Diego men's water polo split its first two games Saturday at the Big West-WCC Clash, defeating San Jose State and falling to UC Santa Barbara.

UC Irvine is hosting the two-day tournament. Participating from the Big West are Long Beach State, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara. Out of the West Coast Conference are California Baptist, Loyola Marymount, and San Jose State.

The Tritons are now 10-8 on the season.

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AGAINST UC SANTA BARBARA
UC San Diego led 5-4 after the opening quarter, but UC Santa Barbara held a 3-2 goal advantage in the second frame to even the game at 7-7 heading into the halftime break. Dash McFarland scored the equalizer with 50 seconds remaining in the second.

McFarland struck again to open the second half, scoring at the 5:20 of the third to put the Gauchos up 8-7. Later trailing 10-8, the Tritons scored two consecutive goals to tie it once again. Landon Akerstrom tallied his first of two goals in the game with 2:09 left in the third and Ante Buzov followed with a power play goal 28 seconds into the fourth stanza to make it 10-10.

The teams then traded goals and Akerstrom's second score on a power play at 6:54 drew the Tritons even yet again at 11-11 with 6:54 remaining in regulation.

UCSB then exploded for four straight goals - one on a power play and three while at even-strength - to put the game out of reach. Brock Zamanian scored two of those and McFarland notched his fourth of the morning during the run.

For the Tritons, Akerstrom, Buzov, Brendon Fezzey, and Lucas Romaguera all scored twice in the game. Bennett Axline, Finn Bugelli, and Eamon Hennessey all scored single goals. Romaguera also assisted on a pair of goals. Logan Estes had 11 saves. 

Zamanian led all players with six points on two goals and four assists. Aside from his four goals, McFarland drew eight exclusions. Adam Geynis had three goals and an assist. In goal, Levi Lentin stopped 10 Triton bids.

Both teams fired 31 total shots each. The Tritons were 3-for-12 and the Gauchos were 5-for-17 on the power play.

The two Big West teams meet again for a conference match-up Oct. 29 in Santa Barbara.

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AGAINST SAN JOSE STATE
With the score knotted 10-10 and just 1:06 left in regulation, Akerstrom netted a power play goal that proved to be the game-winner. It was his second of the contest, putting his goal total on the day at four.

UC San Diego scored the first three goals of game, coming from Kaden Likins, Buzov, and Hennessey in the first quarter.

Trailing 3-1, San Jose State was able to tie it and take a lead in the second frame. Three consecutive goals by Mark Kis, Bence Szabo, and Gal Haimovich put the Spartans ahead 4-3 with 3:40 remaining until halftime. However, the Tritons answered with three straight scores before the half expired from Miles Wilson, Hennessey, and Matthew Wastila to go up 6-4.

UC San Diego was able to hold a lead until a goal by Nikki Matheisen tied the score at 9-9 with 2:59 left on the clock in the fourth quarter. Felipe Ferreira's goal at 1:59 put the Tritons back in front, but Szabo scored again 22 seconds later to knot and set the table for Akerstrom's nail.

Eight different Tritons scored in the game. Along with Akerstrom, Ferreira and Hennessey also scored two. Wastila and Wilson had two assists apiece and Ferreira added four steals to his game totals. For the seventh time this season and second time of the day, Estes compiled a double-digit save total with 11, one short of his career high.

The Spartans got four goals from Szabo. Jaime Steingraf made four saves.

San Jose State had a 28-24 lead in shots.

Two of UC San Diego's goals came on five-meter penalty shots.

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TRITON TIDBITS
• Lucas Romaguera (two goals, three assists) and Miles Wilson (one goal, four assists) each had a team-high five points on the day.
• Landon Akerstrom's four goals were the most by any Triton today.
• Eamon Hennessey has scored six goals over his last three outings.
• The Tritons won six of eight sprints on the day.
• 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, 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
UC San Diego continues play at the Big West-WCC Clash Sunday. The Tritons take on Big West opponent UC Davis at 8 a.m. at Tustin High School. They'll play a second and final game against an opponent to be decided by tournament results.

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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.