LA JOLLA, Calif. — A furious comeback ended in heartbreak Saturday as the UC San Diego men's water polo team was defeated 11-10 in sudden victory overtime by Big West rival UC Davis at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
Down by four goals with 3:22 remaining in regulation, the Tritons stormed back and scored four consecutive times to send the contest into overtime. Following a pair of scoreless three-minute extra periods, the Aggies were able to close it out with the game winner at 1:40 of the golden goal frame.
UC San Diego, ranked No. 8/10 nationally, dropped to 17-7 on the season and 0-3 in conference action. UC Davis, ranked No. 6/7, improved to an even 10-10 and kept its Big West perfect at 3-0.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half saw extremely tight play with the score tied at 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, and 5-5.
UC San Diego's first lead came when
Felipe Ferreira's power play strike made it 3-2 with just under a minute left in the opening quarter.
Bennett Axline scored his first of two goals on the day with 17 seconds remaining in the second quarter to knot the game at 5-5.Â
Aggie Mateo Ruano opened the second half with a goal at 6:56 of the third to give UC Davis a 6-5 advantage. That sparked a 5-1 scoring spree for UC Davis which put the team up 10-6 in the fourth.
UC San Diego's dramatic comeback didn't actually start until there was just 1:19 left in the fourth.
Finn Bugelli fired it up with consecutive goals, the second coming on a power play with 57 seconds on the clock. A five-meter penalty shot turned aside by Triton goalie
Alex Hegeman added more fuel to the fire and
Brendon Fezzey and
Jackson Boettner capitalized, scoring back-to-back to draw UC San Diego even at 10-10. Boettner's goal came with just two seconds to go in regulation.
The first overtime period saw seven total shots launched, four by UC San Diego and three by UC Davis. Hegeman and Aggie Baxter Chelsom each made a save.
The second extra frame started with a huge sprint win by UC Davis' Oriol Vinas. Two of his teammates had been called for exclusions at the very end of the first overtime. If UC San Diego had won the second overtime sprint, the Aggies would have had to play the period with two players excluded. Both teams let three shots go with Hegeman turning two aside and Chelsom stopping one.
After another Vinas sprint win to start the sudden victory period, the Aggies hit the goal post with a shot which was followed by turnovers from each team. Andrew Hitchcock ended the game when his shot drifted ever so slowly on the pool surface and crossed the goal line after what seemed an eternity.
Kyson Becker,
Eamon Hennessey and
Luca Rago also scored goals for UC San Diego. Hegeman finished with seven saves and three steals.
Ten different Aggies scored with Timothy Kerr leading the way with two. Chelsom made 16 saves and added a steal.
WHAT HEAD COACH MATT USTASZEWSKI HAD TO SAY
"The Big West is an incredible conference for men's water polo and today's game was another example of that. All of these games come down to the wire and the separation between teams is minimal. Our guys fought until the very end and ultimately it took the ball to trickle over the goal line in sudden victory to finish us off. I'm proud of our effort and we will be prepared to grow and connect from today's result."
TRITON TIDBITS
• The Tritons came into today's match-up with a three-game win streak against the Aggies.
• Earlier this season, UC San Diego defeated UC Davis 14-12 in the fifth-place game of the MPSF Invitational in Los Angeles.
• The two teams are 5-5 over their last 10 meetings.
• The last time the Tritons and Aggies went to sudden victory was 2021. UC Davis won 13-12.
• Nine of the last 11 meetings were decided by a single goal.
•
Mark Laurlund has dished out 11 assists over his last six games.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego plays just once next week, hitting the road on October 30 for a conference match-up at Cal State Fullerton. The Tritons return to La Jolla for their final two home games of the season, entertaining Big West foe UC Irvine on November 7 (6 p.m.) and non-conference opponent Biola on November 8 (12 p.m.), which will also be Senior Day.Â
Game tickets are available for purchase online by visiting the linkÂ
HERE or by calling (858) 534-1430. For more ticket information, e-mail the box office atÂ
triton-tix@ucsd.edu.
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.
