IRVINE, Calif. -Â No. 13 UC San Diego women's water polo dropped a 13-10 decision to UC Santa Barbara Sunday in its final game at UC Irvine's Barbara Kalbus Invitational.
With the loss, the Tritons fell under .500, now 7-8 on the season. The Gauchos, also ranked 13th in the latest national poll, improved to 6-8.
The 16-team tournament field featured 13 nationally-ranked squads, including nine of the top 10-ranked teams in the country: #1 UCLA, #2 Hawai'i, #3 Fresno State, #4 Stanford, #5 USC, #6 California, #7 Arizona State, #8 Michigan, #10 UC Irvine, #12 Long Beach State, #13 UC San Diego, #13 Indiana, #13 UC Santa Barbara, Biola, Cal State Fullerton, and Pomona-Pitzer.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Caroline Christl got UC San Diego on the board early, scoring the game's first goal on a power play just 27 seconds in. However, UC Santa Barbara answered with back-to-back goals from Leigh Lyter and Annie Quester to move the Gauchos in front, where they stayed for the rest of the contest. UCSB held a 5-1 lead after the opening quarter.
The Tritons won the second quarter, 3-2.
Courtney Okumura got things going with a goal at 6:02.
Kendall Thomas scored twice in the period, once at 3:43 and again with 35 seconds left until halftime. UC San Diego was back within three, 7-4, at the break.
UC Santa Barbara scored two goals early in the third quarter. The second came from Lyter at 5:40, giving the Gauchos a five-goal lead, their largest of the game, at 9-4.
UC San Diego was resilient, scoring two-straight goals to get back within three.
Lucia Doak struck at 5:17 of the third and Christl made good on a five-meter penalty shot at 4:42 to bring the scored to 9-6.
Over the final 3:31 of the third quarter, UCSB scored twice and UC San Diego scored once, making it 11-7 Gauchos heading to the fourth frame. The Tritons' goal came from Okumura on a power play.
UC San Diego was able to win the fourth period, 3-2, but it wasn't enough. Two of the Triton goals came on power plays - Christl at 7:19 and
Sofia Munatones at 3:46 - with the second closing the gap to three again, 12-9.
UCSB's Drew Halvorson made the score 13-9 when she found the back of the net on a power play at 2:05.
Sydney Munatones scored the final goal of the game with just 13 seconds remaining to account for the 13-10 final.
Power play efficiency was key. UC Santa Barbara went 3-for-5 (.600) while UC San Diego scored just four times in 10 opportunities (.400).
Christl's three goals led the Tritons. Okumura and Thomas had two goals apiece, while Doak had one and the Munatones twins combined for two goals.
Annika Arroyo assisted on four of the Tritons' goals, setting a new career-high for helpers.
In goal for UC San Diego,
Katie Ward made five saves.
Halvorson and Lyter both had hat tricks for the Gauchos. Imani Clemons, Annie Kuester, and Christina Mullane all scored twice. Juju Amaral dished out four assists.
Madison Walker and Ava Donleavy combined in the UCSB net. Walker, the starter, had five saves in 12 minutes of action. Donleavy, who played 20 minutes, made nine stops and earned the win.
TRITON TIDBITS
• UC San Diego went 1-3 at the tourney, defeating Biola and falling against California, Arizona State, and UC Santa Barbara.
•
Caroline Christl's hat trick was the 17th of her career and fifth of the season.
•
Courtney Okumura scored in all four games of the tournament, finishing with six total.
•
Lucia Doak,
Sydney Munatones, and
Abigail Schechter scored a goal in three of four games.
• UCLA defeated Hawai'i 15-9 in the tournament's championship game.
• The Tritons and Gauchos meet again on April 7 for a Big West match-up in Santa Barbara.
UP NEXT
The Tritons have a three-game week coming up. On Friday, March 1, they play La Verne (10:15 a.m.) and Biola (2 p.m.) at Chapman University as part of the Claremont Convergence tournament. The following day, they host CSUN at noon to open up their Big West season. It will be Youth Day with the first 100 kids getting a free umbrella hat. Tickets for home games are available through the
Triton Box Office.
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.
