PRINCETON, N.J. – No. 11 UC San Diego men's water polo out-scored its opponents 39-11 to win a pair of games on the first day of the Princeton Invitational Friday.
The Tritons topped Wagner, 16-10, before taking down Iona, 23-1, at DeNunzio Pool on the Ivy League campus.
UC San Diego is now 5-1 on the young season.
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HOW IT HAPPENED vs. WAGNER
Landon Akerstrom scored a career-high six goals and Trevor Moore registered his first of two hat tricks on the day as the Tritons used a strong second half to pull away from the Seahawks.
UC San Diego scored the first three goals of the game, but Wagner kept it close and the Tritons were ahead by just one, 4-3, at the end of the opening frame.
By halftime, it was knotted at 7-7 as Wagner won the second quarter, 4-3.
The Tritons turned it on in the third, out-scoring the Seahawks, 5-1, to go up 12-8 moving into the final period.
UC San Diego struck for two-straight goals to open the fourth. First, Akerstrom netted his sixth and final goal of the game at 7:08, while Brendon Fezzey scored on a power play at 6:23 to move the score to 14-8. Over the final 2:52, Moore scored two more power play goals to complete his trick and essentially cap the Triton win.
Logan Estes logged a complete game in net for the Tritons, finishing with 12 saves.
UC San Diego was seven-for-13 on power play opportunities, while Wagner converted four of seven.
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HOW IT HAPPENED vs. IONA
UC San Diego's Rhys Bugelli scored the game's first goal at 6:17 of the opening quarter. Iona quickly tied it up when Mohamed Refaat buried a power play goal at 4:29.
At 1-1, the Tritons went on to score the final 22 goals of the game.
At the final horn, UC San Diego had scored four times in the first quarter, five times in the second, and seven in each of the third and fourth periods.
Seven different Tritons tallied multiple goals in the game including Rhys Bugelli (four), Eamon Hennessey (two), Reef Lippa (two), Augi Macchi (two), Trevor Moore (three), Mason Presley (three), and Lucas Romaguera (three).
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WHAT HEAD COACH MATT USTASZEWSKI HAD TO SAY
"It was a good first day of the tournament. It's nice to get out East and experience playing against different opponents and different styles of play. We're looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead tomorrow as it will help prepare us for the rest of the season."
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TRITON TIDBITS
• The 23 goals scored vs. Iona are a season-high for the Tritons.
• The last time they scored more in a single game was in 2022, a 25-9 win at Fresno Pacific.
• Landon Akerstrom's six goals vs. Wagner are the most scored by a Triton in a single game this season.
• Against Wagner, it was the third double-digit save total for Logan Estes in 2024.
