BERKELEY, Calif. – No. 12 UC San Diego men's water polo dropped a tight game against No. 12 UC Davis Sunday, falling by a score of 10-9 in the seventh-place contest at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Invitational.
With its sixth-consecutive loss, the Tritons fell to 5-7.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego was up by a goal, 8-7, at the end of the third quarter. However, UC Davis won the final period 3-1.
Thomas Kiesling's power play goal with 2:25 remaining in the game proved to be the decision maker.
The Tritons had a chance to tie it up after the Aggies were whistled for an exclusion at 1:16. On the power play, UC San Diego got off two shots but neither found the back of the net.
Landon Akerstrom finished with a hat trick for the Tritons. Eamon Hennessey had two goals, while Bennett Axline, Ante Buzov, Felipe Ferreira, and Mark Laurland each scored once.
In net for the Tritons Logan Estes finished with seven saves and a steal.
Holden Neach led UC Davis with three goals. Gabe Bensen and Timothy Kerr each scored twice. Goalies Frank Laptin and Brady Simon combined for five saves.
UC San Diego out-shot its opponent 27-25. The Tritons scored on eight of 17 power play opportunities (47%) while the Aggies were six-for-15 (40%).
The score was tied 3-3 after the opening quarter. The Tritons blanked the Aggies, 2-0, in the second and owned a 5-3 advantage going into halftime. UC Davis won the third, 4-3 to account for UC San Diego's 8-7 lead going into the fourth.
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TRITON TIDBITS
• UC San Diego also lost against No. 5 California, No. 1 UCLA, and No. 7 Princeton at the tourney.
• The six-straight Triton losses were all against nationally-ranked teams.
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FINAL TOURNAMENT STANDINGS
1. UCLA
2. USC
3. Stanford
4. California
5. Princeton
6. Long Beach State
7. UC Davis
8. UC San Diego
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UP NEXT
A busy week is on tap for UC San Diego. The annual Battle of the Kings presented by Duke's La Jolla between the Tritons and Loyola Marymount is set for Wednesday, September 25 at 6 p.m. It's the first week that all students are back on campus, so it will be a packed house at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
Two more home contests follow as Concordia is in town Friday and Pacific visits on Saturday. Both games are 6 p.m. starts.
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 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.
