LA JOLLA, Calif. -Â UC San Diego women's water polo went 1-1 Saturday on the second day of its Triton Invitational at Canyonview Aquatic Center on the La Jolla campus.
The ninth-ranked Tritons started the day with a 13-9 win against California Baptist before suffering a 16-9 loss to No. 13 Long Beach State.
UC San Diego is now 6-3 on the year with one day of action remaining in the tourney. The Tritons are up against 12th-ranked UC Santa Barbara on Sunday at 9:20 a.m.
For results, a complete schedule, and ticket information, visit the
tournament page.  Â
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HOW IT HAPPENED v CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
Caroline Christl and
Kendall Thomas each recorded a hat trick with Thomas adding a pair or assists to finish with five points. Also totaling five points was
Courtney Okumura with two goals and three assists.
Freshman goalie
Paedrin Gillette made her Triton debut, collecting her first collegiate while finishing with five saves and three steals.
UC San Diego scored the first three goals of the game and stayed in front until the final horn. Thomas led off the scoring and was followed by
Lucia Doak and
Sofia Munatones.
The Lancers' first goal came with just over a minute left in the opening quarter when Niya Bumbaca found the net.
Christl opened the second stanza with back-to-back goals, making the score 5-1. UC San Diego's largest lead was five on several occasions. The first was earned when
Cascade Stensland scored 29 seconds into the fourth quarter to put the Tritons up by a score of 10-5.
UC San Diego held a significant advantage in shots, 31-19.
A total of nine power plays goals were scored, five for the Lancers and four for the Tritons.
Thomas, a Big West Preseason Coaches' Team selection, had four drawn exclusions, elevating her season total to 12.
Kyra Kahahawai scored twice and assisted on three other goals for California Baptist. Celeste Almendariz came away with three goals and an assist for the Lancers. Goalie Tyanna Schneider made six saves while making three steals.
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HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST LONG BEACH STATE
In a game that pitted two Big West rivals against one another, Long Beach State had a stellar second half, out-scoring a lackluster UC San Diego offense 8-2. The Beach held the Tritons scoreless in the final quarter of play.
Trailing 3-2 in the first quarter, the Tritons got three-consecutive goals from Stensland, Christl, and
Sofia Munatones to take a 5-3 advantage.
Following a Thomas goal that made it 7-5 Tritons with five minutes left in the second, LBSU exploded to score the game's next seven goals. Four of those came on five-meter penalty shots by Lara Luka. A Kathryn McCullough power play goal with 2:20 left in the third closed the run and gave LBSU a 12-7 lead.
Abigail Schechter and
Annika Arroyo had back-to-back goals for UC San Diego to close the gap to three. However, the Beach scored the game's final four goals to earn the win. Elisa Portillo contributed three goals in that span.
Luka and Portillo accounted for 13 of LBSU's 16 goals - seven for Luka and six from Portillo. Both players add an assist to their totals.
Christl and Thomas had two goals apiece for the Tritons.
Gillet made six saves for UC San Diego and Chelsea Oliver had eight for Long Beach State.Â
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TRITON TIDBITS
• The tournament features a stacked field with all but two of the 15 teams ranked in the national top-25.
• Friday, UC San Diego was nipped, 12-11, by Arizona State.
• Third-ranked UCLA will face No. 5 Fresno State in Sunday's championship game.
• Since 2010, the Bruins have won the Triton Invitational three times (2022, 2020, 2011) and have finished as runner-up four times (2023, 2019, 2018, 2016).
• No. 1 USC and No. 4 Hawai'i will play for third place.
• UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara will be battling for 11th place.
• UC San Diego is 2-0 against California Baptist this season.
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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.
