RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The
14th-ranked UC San Diego women's water polo team earned a pair of wins Saturday, defeating No. 17 San Jose State and following up with a victory against Fresno Pacific.
The score against the Spartans was 13-11 while the count vs. Fresno Pacific was 18-7.
The Tritons evened their season record at 3-3.
Both games were played at the Lancer Aquatics Center on the campus of California Baptist.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST SAN JOSE STATE
It was a rematch between the Tritons and Spartans, who played one another just six days ago, with the Tritons coming away with a 13-12 victory.
UC San Diego scored the first four goals of the game and never gave up the lead.
The opening goal came just 15 seconds in when
Caroline Christl converted a five-meter penalty shot.
Abigail Schechter was next, scoring on a power play at the 6:23 mark. Christl logged her second of four goals in the game to put the Tritons up 3-0 and
Sydney Munatones made it 4-0 at 5:29.
San Jose State got on the board at 4:25 when Sarah Woren found the back of the net. Spartan Darcy Spark got her team within two at 3:37 of the first. Spark ended up scoring six of SJSU's 11 goals in the game.
Christl completed her hat trick before the first quarter ended, giving the Tritons a 5-2 advantage.
UC San Diego out-scored San Jose State 4-2 in the second quarter to extend its lead to 9-4. Christl added another to her total, as did Schechter and Munatones.
Kendall Thomas rounded out the scoring.
The Spartans came out firing in the third, out-scoring the Tritons 5-2. Spark scored three times.
Courtney Okumura and
Lucia Doak scored UC San Diego's two goals and the Tritons were ahead by two, 11-9, heading into the fourth frame.
Freshman
Evelyn Burns gave the Tritons some breathing room, scoring two straight times to put them up 13-9.
The Spartans scored the last two goals of the game came in the final 1:31, but it wasn't enough.
Munatones finished with seven points on two goals and five assists.
In goal,
Bria Zwaschka made seven saves in the win. She also had two steals.
UC San Diego had a 33-25 advantage in shots. The Tritons were 2-for-6 on the power play while the Spartans converted 3 of 10.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST FRESNO PACIFIC
UC San Diego led just 6-3 at halftime but exploded for 12 goals in the second half, four in the third quarter and eight in the fourth. The eight-spot was the most goals in a single quarter thus far this season.
Schechter and
Emily Cloherty both recorded hat tricks. For the second time on the day, Burns scored two goals..
Also scoring twice were
Allie Bartholomew,
Kyla Bruhn, and
Olivia Obando. Bruhn also assisted on three goals to finish the game with five points. Cloherty and Bartholomew each totaled four points.
Zwaschka had eight saves and two steals in her second-straight win.
TRITON TIDBITS
• The Tritons are out-shooting opponents 197-161
• They also hold a 50-42 lead in steals
•
Sydney Munatones leads the team in points (14) and assists (8)
•
Caroline Christl has a team-high 11 goals and is followed by
Abigail Schechter (9) and
Kendall Thomas (7)
• Freshman
Evelyn Burns has scored in three of six games with two goals in all three
• Christl,
Lucia Doak, Schechter, and
Kendall Thomas have scored in five of six games.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego hosts its annual 16-team Triton Invitational at Canyonview Aquatic Center. Jan. 31-Feb. 2. The Tritons begin against No. 12 Arizona State on Friday at 4 p.m. For complete info, visit the
tournament page.
Single day tickets and multi-day passes for the Triton Invitational 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.
