LOS ANGELES — The No. 13/14 UC San Diego men's water polo team split a pair of games Saturday on the second day of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Invitational, co-hosted by UCLA and USC in Los Angeles.
In their first game of the day, the Tritons suffered a 15-8 loss to USC, the No. 2 ranked team in the nation. Later in the day, UC San Diego rebounded to defeat No. 13/16 Loyola Marymount by a score of 13-11.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
UC San Diego came out firing, out-scoring LMU 4-1 in the first quarter. The Lions won the second frame, 3-2, bringing the score to 6-4 in favor of the Tritons at the half. It was a 5-3 advantage for UC San Diego in the third stanza, making it 11-7 moving into the fourth and final period. Loyola Marymount won the fourth 4-2, but it wasn't enough to overtake the Tritons.
Eamon Hennessey scored four goals, three of those coming in the third quarter, for UC San Diego.
Bennett Axline add three, while
Landon Akerstrom and
Lucas Romaguera each had two.
Brendon Fezzey and
Luca Rago each scored once.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST USC
The Tritons and Trojans played back-and-forth early on. A
Grant Kurtz goal with just under a minute left in the opening quarter put UC San Diego up 4-3. At that point, the Trojans broke it open by scoring six straight goals - one in the first quarter, three in the second, and another two in the third - to go up by a 9-4 count with 7:18 left in the third.
UC San Diego scored the next two goals. The first came from
Christian Hammonds on a five-meter penalty shot, the second was a
Mark Laurlund strike that got the Tritons back within three at 9-6.
USC answered by scoring the game's next three goals, putting the Trojans ahead by a 12-6 count with 1:54 left in the third quarter.
USC outscored UC San Diego 3-2 in the fourth and final stanza.
Seven different Tritons scored goals with
Lucas Romaguera finding the back of the net twice.
Alex Hegeman made 11 saves in the loss.
Four of UC San Diego's goals came on extra-man opportunities.Â
UP NEXT
The Tritons play one more game at the MPSF Invitational and will face off against Big West rival UC Davis Sunday at 11:30 a.m. The Aggies are ranked #9/11. The winner claims fifth place in the 16-team field.
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 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.
