LA JOLLA, Calif. — The UC San Diego men's water polo team snapped a long draught against UC Santa Barbara Friday, defeating the Big West opponent 16-8 at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
The victory was the first for the Tritons against the Gauchos since 2014.
UC San Diego improved to 14-10 overall and 2-2 in the Big West, while UCSB dropped to 14-10 on the season and 1-3 in conference play.
In this week's national poll, UC San Diego is No. 12 while UC Santa Barbara is No. 14
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons laid a solid foundation for the win in the first half, scoring five times in each quarter to lead 10-5 at the break. They rode the momentum into the third quarter, scoring four goals while giving up just one to the Gauchos.
Bennett Axline and
Mark Laurlund netted the game's first two goals in the opening 1:21, giving UC San Diego a lead that it would never surrender.
UC Santa Barbara's first goal was scored by Brock Zamanian on a power play at 5:59 of the first period.
The Tritons' largest lead was nine after
Rhys Bugelli made good on a five-meter penalty shot with just over three minutes left in the game.
UC Santa Barbara held a 33-22 advantage in shots, but shooting percentage was a key factor. The Tritons scored on 72 percent of their shots while the Gauchos finished at 24 percent.
Extra-man situations were also a major factor in the game. UC San Diego went five-for-seven (.714) while UCSB was two-for-nine (.222). In addition, the Tritons converted on all four of their penalty shot attempts.
UCSB had 14 steals to UC San Diego's nine.
Triton
Lucas Romaguera finished with a game-high five points, scoring four goals and assisting on another. Landon Ackerstrom and
Felipe Ferreira had one goal and three assists apiece.
Rhys Bugelli and
Ante Buzov each had three points on two goals and an assist.
In goal,
Logan Estes made 10 saves. The senior also added two steals and an assist.
Eight different Gauchos each scored once.
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HIGHLIGHT REEL
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LOGAN ESTES INTERVIEW
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TRITON TIDBITS
• The last time the Tritons had defeated the Gauchos was Oct. 12 of 2014 (9-4).
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Landon Akerstrom upped his goal-scoring streak to 15 games.
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Logan Estes has at least one steal in eight of his last nine games with multiple steals in five of those.
• The Gauchos had won the previous 10 games. Four of them were in La Jolla, four were in Santa Barbara, and two were at neutral sites. Three went to overtime. One of the three match-ups in 2023 was a Big West Championship semifinal in La Jolla.
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UP NEXT
UC San Diego plays its next two games on the road, traveling to Big West rival UC Davis on Nov. 9 and non-conference foe Stanford on Nov. 10.
The Tritons then return home to close out the regular season. They host Westcliff for Senior Night on Nov. 14 at 6 p.m.
Tickets for 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 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.
