STANFORD, Calif. — No. 12 UC San Diego was defeated 15-10 by No. 2 Stanford Sunday afternoon at Avery Aquatics Center.

UC San Diego fell to 15-11 overall with the non-conference loss. The Cardinal improved to 18-3.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Stanford scored four goals in each of the first three quarters and closed it out with three more in the fourth.

UC San Diego's quarter-by-quarter scoring went 3-1-3-3.

The Tritons had several leads in a back-and-forth first half. Landon Akerstrom scored the game's first goal on a penalty shot at 6:32 of the opening period. The Cardinal tied it at 1-1, but Eamon Hennessey put UC San Diego back in front with a power play strike at 3:17. Again, Stanford drew even 14 seconds later when Jackson Painter buried a penalty shot, making the score 2-2. Hennessey tallied his second goal of the quarter at 2:48, putting the visitors back on top 3-2, but that would prove to be the final lead for the Tritons.

The Cardinal caught fire and netted the game's next five goals to take a commanding 7-3 advantage. At the half, they were in front 8-4.

Triton Bennett Axline scored the first goal of the third quarter, but Stanford answered with three-consecutive goals to extend its lead to 11-5.

With the Cardinal up 12-6 with just under two minutes left in the third, UC San Diego rallied for three-straight goals to get back within three at 12-9. Lucas Romaguera was responsible for two of those scores, one on a penalty shot, the other on a power play.

Alex Gheorghe and Soren Jensen scored back-to-back for Stanford, bringing the score to 14-9 with only 3:19 left in the game, essentially sealing the victory for the Cardinal.

Both teams added one more goal to their totals as Triton Rhys Bugelli scored at 1:07 and Jensen scored with 40 seconds left to close out the game.

UC San Diego got two goals apiece from Akerstrom, Hennessey, and Romaguera. Hennessey also added an assist, while Mark Laurlund finished with two assists. Logan Estes had three saves in goal.

For Stanford, Painter and Will Schneider each recorded a hat trick. Wes Temkin turned aside 10 scoring bids by the Tritons.
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TRITON TIDBITS
• Landon Akerstrom extended his scoring streak to 17 games.
• With UC San Diego's Saturday win at UC Davis, the Tritons secured the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big West Championship.
• The seeds for the Big West Championship are set: 1: UC Irvine (5-0), 2. UC San Diego (3-2), 3: UC Davis (3-2), 4. UC Santa Barbara (2-3), 5. Long Beach State (2-3), 6: Cal State Fullerton (0-5).
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UP NEXT 
The Tritons now return home to close out the regular season. They host non-conference opponent Westcliff for Senior Night on Thursday, Nov. 14, at 6 p.m. Tickets for the game are available through the Triton Box Office.

The Big West Championship is slated for Nov. 22-24 at UC Davis.
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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.