LOS ANGELES — Senior
Bennett Axline (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.) scored five goals to lead the No. 13/14 UC San Diego men's water polo team to a 14-13 overtime victory against No. 9/11 Princeton Friday afternoon.
The game was the first for both teams at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Invitational, co-hosted by UCLA and USC. It took place at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
UC San Diego is now 9-4 overall and Princeton is 8-1 after being handed its first loss of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tied 12-12 after the first of two three-minute overtime periods, Axline scored his fifth and final goal of the game on a power play with 2:18 remaining to put the Tritons ahead. With 50 seconds on the clock,
Christian Hammonds added an insurance goal, padding UC San Diego's lead by a pair, 14-12. Eight seconds later, Tiger Tas Palcza capitalized on an extra-man situation to get his team back within one, but the final 42 seconds ticked off with no further goals.
UC San Diego never trailed but the game was tied 10 times (2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 8-8, 9-9, 10-10, 11-11, 12-12).
The Tritons started strong, going up 2-0 on back-to-back goals by
Landon Akerstrom and Axline in the opening quarter. It was back and forth from there until another Axline strike at 7:30 of the third quarter gave the Tritons its second two-goal lead at 8-6. Hammonds' goal in the second OT was the only other time the teams were separated by more than one goal.
UC San Diego led 4-3 after the first quarter and 7-6 at halftime. Princeton won the third quarter 4-3 while each squad scored once in the fourth frame.
The first overtime saw the Tritons take a 12-11 lead when
Felipe Ferreira scored on a power play at 2:14. Tiger Logan McCarroll answered, also on a power play, at 1:35 to knot it at 12-12 before the game moved on to the second extra session.
Finn Bugelli and
Eamon Hennessey provided two goals each for the Tritons.
Mark Laurlund registered five assists to equal his career best.
Alex Hegeman made nine saves and added a steal in goal for UC San Diego.
McCarroll led Princeton with a hat trick while JP Ohl had four points on a goal and three assists. Kristof Kovacs had nine saves and a steal in goal.
WHAT HEAD COACH MATT USTASZEWSKI HAD TO SAY
"It was a great team effort today. We have been focusing on playing four quarters of consistent water polo, and it took that plus overtime to get a real quality win. We are improving each week and are excited about the challenges that await us in the quarterfinals Saturday."
TRITON TIDBITS
•
Bennett Axline's five goals were one short of his career-high (six at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in 2023).
• In just two games played this season,
Landon Akerstrom has contributed five points on two goals and three assists.
• UC San Diego's last OT game prior to today's was on October 25, 2024 (13-12 loss to Big West opponent Long Beach State in Sudden Victory).
UP NEXT
UC San Diego takes on No. 2/2 USC Saturday at 11 a.m. at UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center. The Tritons will play a second game Saturday and a final game Sunday with opponents to be determined.
Next week features the annual Battle of the Kings on Wednesday, September 24 at 6 pm. Canyonview Aquatic Center in La Jolla will be rocking as the Tritons take on LMU during the first week that all UC San Diego students are back on campus.
Season and single game tickets are available for purchase online by visiting the link
HERE or by calling (858) 534-1430. For more ticket information, e-mail the box office at
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.
