SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -Â
Caroline Christl buried a five-meter penalty shot midway through the fourth quarter to lift No. 12 UC San Diego to a 7-6 win over No. 15 UC Santa Barbara in Big West women's water polo action Sunday.
The Tritons upped their season record to 16-9 and moved to 4-1 in conference play. The Gauchos dropped to 14-12 and 1-4.Â
Through Sunday's games, UC San Diego (4-1) is tied with Long Beach State (4-1) for second place in the conference. Hawai'i (6-0) is at the top, while UC Irvine (3-2) is fourth followed by Cal State Fullerton (1-3), UC Santa Barbara (1-4), CSUN (1-5), and UC Davis (0-4).
HOW IT HAPPENED
With the score tied 6-6 and 3:59 left on the clock in the final quarter, Gaucho Christina Mullane was assessed a penalty foul. Christl took the five-meter and beat UCSB keeper Madison Walker to her left with a skip shot into the right corner.
The Tritons were called for an exclusion with 1:15 remaining, but they were able to kill the power play opportunity.
Not only was she responsible for the game-winner, Christl scored an earlier goal and assisted on two others.
Lexi Stahl was stellar in net for the Tritons, turning aside 13 bids by UCSB. Her save total included a five-meter penalty shot stop with just over two minutes left in the third. Stahl also logged two steals and an assist.
Annika Arroyo and
Lucia Doak each scored twice and
Grayson Mix added a single goal for UC San Diego. Doak had three steals on the day as well.
The Tritons led 3-1 following a tightly-contested first half of play.
The Gauchos came out on fire in the third, scoring four-consecutive goals and winning the period 4-1. The first came from Annie Kuester at 7:11 and the equalizer was scored by Imani Clemons on a power play at 4:07. With time running down in the third, Clemons gave UC Santa Barbara its first lead, 4-3, with a goal at 1:52. Just 38 seconds later, Drew Halvorson put the Gauchos up by two, 5-3.
The first minute of the fourth quarter saw the teams trade goals. Behind 6-4, Arroyo and Doak found the net to bring the Tritons back into it. Arroyo's came at 5:58 and Doak's power play strike on a no-look shot into the top left corner at 4:27 tied the game for just the second time.
Five different players scored for the Gauchos. Walker was called upon to make 12 saves.
UC San Diego held a 33-30 lead in shots. Neither team was consistent on the power play, the Tritons going one-for-eight (.125) and the Gauchos going one-for-five (.200).Â
WHAT HEAD COACH BRAD KREUTZKAMP HAD TO SAY
"I can't express how proud I am of the team today. Santa Barbara is an incredibly fast and tenacious team, which they showed in the third quarter by getting on us pretty good. We easily could have given up right there and rolled over. But, we responded with poise and intensity and came away with another one-goal win. It's a testament to how good the Big West is."
TRITON TIDBITS
• The game was played at Dos Pueblos High School in Santa Barbara.
• It was
Lexi Stahl's seventh game this season with at least 10 saves.
• Stahl has recorded a steal in 10 games with multiple swipes in seven of those.
•
Caroline Christl's 11-game scoring streak includes nine games with multiple goals.
• It was
Lucia Doak's ninth multiple-goal game in 2024.
UP NEXT
To close out its Big West slate, UC San Diego serves as host for its next two games. The Tritons entertain Long Beach State on Saturday, April 13 (12 p.m.) and UC Davis on Friday, April 19 (6 p.m.). It will be Senior Night as well as Marshall College Night on the 19th.
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.
