TEMPE, Ariz. - The No. 13 UC San Diego women's water polo team improved to 4-0 Sunday by scoring 38 goals to capture wins against California Baptist and McKendree.
The day started with a runaway victory against McKendree as the Tritons stormed to a 27-5 win. They then held on for an 11-9 topping of California Baptist, which is receiving votes in this week's national poll.
Both games were part of Arizona State's Malmsten Invitational at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center in Tempe.
Abigail Schechter was UC San Diego's goal leader as she found the net seven times on the day. Freshman
Kenya Cassidy followed with five, while
Emily Cloherty along with freshmen
Berkley Sinner and
Caitlin Stayt each tallied four goals.
All in all, 11 Tritons scored at least once and 10 of them had multiple goals.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
Cloherty potted three goals while Cassidy, Schechter, and Sinner each tickled the twine twice. The Munatones twins, Sophia and Sydney, rounded out the scoring with one goal apiece against the Lancers.
Triton goalie
Bria Zwaschka played a huge part in the win as she recorded 12 saves, one short of her career high, while adding four steals to her totals.
Tied 2-2 with 3:10 left in the opening quarter,
Sydney Munatones scored the first of five consecutive Triton goals. Followed by scores from Schechter and
Sofia Munatones, UC San Diego held a 5-2 lead heading into period two.
Cloherty notched a pair of goals, the first at 6:52 and the second at 6:07, to give the Tritons a 7-2 lead. California Baptist was able to bang in two goals before halftime, closing the gap to three at 7-4 Tritons.
The third period was won by UC San Diego, 2-1. Cassidy and Sinner were the goal scorers, making the score 9-5 going into the fourth.
The Lancers out-scored the Tritons 4-1 in the fourth, their only winning quarter of the contest. The squads traded the first four goals of the period. With UC San Diego ahead 11-7 following a goal by Sinner at 4:21, CBU's Emmie Ramirez scored back to back goals. Her first came with 3:31 on the clock, her second, which proved to be the final goal of the game, came at 2:17.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST MCKENDREE
Eight different Tritons scored multiple goals against the Bearcats. Schechter led with five and Stayt was just behind with four.
Evelyn Burns, Cassidy, and
Cascade Stensland each registered hat tricks. Freshman
Anna Fazioli, Sophia Munatones, and Sinner each had two.
The Tritons put in six goals in each of the first and second quarters. They bumped that number up to nine goals in the third before finishing with another six in the final frame.
In goal, Zwaschka finished with five saves, while freshman
Nola Palestrant had three stops.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego concludes its time in Arizona Sunday as it takes on host Arizona State at 11:45 a.m. Pacific. The 11th-ranked Sun Devils went 3-0 Saturday with wins over California Baptist (16-7), Loyola Marymount (17-15), and McKendree (24-6). They face Michigan Sunday morning prior to taking on the Tritons.
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.
