BERKELEY, Calif. – No. 12 UC San Diego men's water polo was defeated by UCLA, the top-ranked team in the nation, and No. 7 Princeton Saturday at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Invitational.
Hosted by No. 5/6 California Sept. 20-22, the eight-team field also includes No. 2/2, Stanford, No. 3/3 USC, No. 9/10 Long Beach State, and No. 12/13 UC Davis.
With the losses, the Tritons fall to 5-6.
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HOW IT HAPPENED vs. UCLA
UCLA scored the game's first goal on a power play less than a minute into the opening period.
UC San Diego came back strong with two-straight goals, one by Bennett Axline on a power play and one by Mason Presley. The 2-1 advantage would be the only time that the Tritons were in front.
The Bruins scored two more times in the quarter. The first came on a five-meter penalty shot at 2:26 to even the game at 2-2. The second was a power play strike with 20 seconds remaining in the first. That made it 3-2 UCLA and the Bruins stayed in front the rest of the way.
UCLA out-scored the Tritons 5-1 in the second stanza and led by a score of 8-3 at the half. They continued their attack in the third, owning a 4-1 lead in goals to take control of the game at 12-4.
UC San Diego won the fourth quarter, 3-1. Goals came from Luca Rago, Presley, and Trevor Moore.
Landon Akerstrom and Finn Bugelli each scored once for the Tritons.
Chase Dodd and Ryder Dodd each recorded hat tricks for UCLA. Aaron Voggenthaler added two. Five other Bruins scored single goals.
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. PRINCETON
Princeton came out firing, scoring the game's first five goals, four in the first quarter and the fifth opened up the second period.
UC San Diego got on the board at 7:06 of the second when Bennett Axline found the back of the net. After the teams traded goals to make it 6-2 Tigers, Princeton scored twice to take a commanding 8-2 lead.
Triton Mark Laurlund got one back with 14 seconds left in the half, sending the game into the break with Princeton up 8-3.
The Tigers netted the first two goals of the second half to go ahead 10-3. However, the Tritons owned the next two as Rhys Bugelli and Nolan Roberts both scored on power plays to make it 10-5.
Princeton was able to score two more times before the third quarter came to a close at 12-5.
Both teams scored five goals apiece in the final period. At 16-9 in favor of Princeton, the teams traded goals. UC San Diego's was notched by Lachlan Rossi. The game's final goal came on a Tiger penalty shot with only 20 seconds remaining in the game.
Eamon Hennessey scored a pair of goals in the final 3:57 of the fourth.
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TRITON TIDBITS
• Luca Rago scored twice
• Lucas Romaguera was held scoreless against UCLA, ending his eight-game goal-scoring streak.
• UC San Diego lost to UCLA and Princeton earlier in the season.
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UP NEXT
UC San Diego plays UC Davis Sunday at 9 a.m. PT in the seventh-place game to close out action in Berkeley. The game will be broadcast live by Overnght and can also be followed with live stats.
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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 Conference 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 83 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.
