LA JOLLA, Calif. – The 11^th-ranked UC San Diego women's water polo team lost a close, 10-9 battle at home against No. 7 Long Beach State on Saturday afternoon.

The Tritons' season record fell to 16-10 and moved to 4-2 in conference play. The Beach improved to 20-7 and 5-1 in 2024.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Getting the action started within the first 15 seconds of play, Annika Arroyo helped the home Tritons get on the board first off of a nice feed from Sofia Munatones on the team's first possession.
 
Following LBSU's opening goal of the afternoon, UC San Diego was able to take advantage of a power play as Munatones earned her second assist of the day to set up a goal from Courtney Okumura putting the Tritons ahead 2-1. The Beach would find the back of the net twice more in the first quarter for a 3-2 lead through the first eight minutes.
 
The Tritons came out aggressive throughout the second quarter as they outscored Long Beach State by a 4-1 margin as Kendall Thomas, Caroline Christl and Arroyo each scored with Christl finding the back of the net twice in the period as UC San Diego lead 6-4 at halftime.
 
Long Beach State was able to regain control of the match in the third quarter as they scored four goals while the Tritons mustered a pair of goals as Christil and Okumura each found the back of the net for an 8-all tie heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Putting UC San Diego ahead early in the final period, Lucia Doak was able to sneak one past the goalkeeper on a penalty shot giving the Tritons the 9-8 with 7:05 remaining in the game.
 
The Beach would go on to score the final two goals of the game to pick up the 10-9 victory in La Jolla.  

Five different players scored for the Tritons as UC San Diego went 4-9 (.444) on their powerplay chances against LBSU.

The Beach were able to outshoot UC San Diego by a 34-31 margin, and both teams combined to go a perfect 5-5 on penalty shots at Canyonview.

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS


WHAT HEAD COACH BRAD KREUTZKAMP HAD TO SAY  


TRITON TIDBITS
• Saturday served as the penultimate match of the regular season for the Tritons at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
• Caroline Christl continued her stellar season with a hat trick on the afternoon as she's scored a team-high 55 goals this season.
• Lexi Stahl registered a total of nine saves against Long Beach State on Saturday.
• Annika Arroyo contributed her first multi goal and assist performance since the Tritons faced No. 11 LMU on February 16.

UP NEXT
The Tritons now look forward to their final two regular season matches as they will first host UC Davis on Friday, April 19 at 6:00 p.m. for Senior Night. UC San Diego will then head southeast for the annual Harper Cup against San Diego State on Sunday, April 21 at 1:00 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.