LA JOLLA CALIF. - The seventh-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team faced off against Big West opponent Cal State Fullerton Friday night at Canyonview Aquatic Center and came away with a 19-11 victory.
The Tritons improved to 16-7 overall and 3-1 in Big West play. With the loss, the Titans dropped to 17-12 and remained winless in conference action, falling to 0-4.
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Christian Hammonds and Big West Player of the Week
Jackson Boettner led UC San Diego with six points each. Hammonds had three goals and three assists while adding two steals. Boettner netted two goals, and four assists.
Finn Bugelli and
Mason Presley had hat tricks as well. Goalie
Alex Hegeman recorded eight saves and a steal.
UC San Diego scored its 19 goals on 29 shots (.655) while Fullerton's 11 goals were on 27 attempts (.407).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both squads scored four goals in the opening quarter. AÂ strong attack by Cal State Fullerton saw Jason Joseph score the first two for the Titans. In between, the Tritons got on the board with a
Mason Presley goal. At 4:52, Ethan MacLeod gave the visitors a 3-1 advantage. However, Hammonds and Bugelli went back-to-back and the score was even at 3-3 with 1:59 left in the period. Cal State Fullerton went back in front, but Boettner's first goal of the game with just eight seconds remaining made it 4-4 heading into the second frame.
The momentum shifted towards UC San Diego in the second period as the Tritons out-scored Cal State Fullerton 6-3. Back-to-back goals by Hammonds and Boettner at 7:16 and 6:54 gave the Tritons their first lead of the night at 6-5. UC San Diego would add four more before halftime to lead 10-7. Dusan Djorjevic's goal at 2:03 came off a beautiful skip shot to the left corner, where he had the Titan goalie diving to the right to defend.
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In the third, UC San Diego was able to carry the momentum forward and continue to extend its lead by scoring four times to Cal State Fullerton's two. All four of the Triton goals came on power plays.
Michael Rodgers' goal at 5:59 made it 12-7 Tritons and that would prove to be the game-winner. The Tritons were able to draw an exclusion late in the quarter and
Grant Kurtz capitalized, netting a power play goal with :01 left on the clock that sent UC San Diego into the fourth quarter leading 14-9.
The fourth quarter proved to be a defensive battle until Cal State Fullerton ended the deadlock with a power-play goal at 5:25. The Titans would score again at 4:42, but the Tritons reeled off five straight goals to close out the match. Each of the goals were scored by a different Triton including Hammonds, Kurtz, Bugelli,
Lucas Pearce, and
Liam Amburgey.
FINN-TASTIC
Bugelli notched his fourth hat trick of the season with dominant play in the set position.
"It just comes from trusting my teammates, building chemistry in practice, spending time with the guys outside the water, knowing how they play and how to best work with them," said Bugelli.
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An Aerospace Engineer in Warren College, and a midterm for one of his classes was to be taken promptly after the game. Bugelli on the circumstance, with a smile: "It's a little unfortunate, right after the game I have to go to the conference room and sit down for a two-hour exam, but that's just how it has to go sometimes."
TRITON TIDBITS
• UC San Diego extended its win streak against Cal State Fullerton to six games.
• The Tritons went 6-for-9 on the power-play (.400).
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Christian Hammonds recorded his ninth three-goal game of the season, tying teammateÂ
Jackson Boettner for the team lead.
Finn Bugelli recorded his fourth and
Mason Presley notched his second.
• Hammonds extended his goal-scoring streak to 23 games.
• The Tritons are 10-1 on Fridays this season.
• Tonight's 19 goals were scored by 11 different Tritons.
• After Bugelli's third goal, the main theme from Walt Disney's
Pirates of the Caribbean:
Curse of the Black Pearl was played over the loudspeakers, which happens to be Bugelli's chosen goal song. "I like the Pirates of the Caribbean; I like the music. If I want a little pick-me-up in the game, I like to hear my favorite song.Â
#11 UC Santa Barbara beat #8 UC Irvine 11-10 tonight to tie UC San Diego for the Big West lead, both 3-1 in conference.
UP NEXT
The Tritons hit the road next week for a pair of games. They face Cal Baptist in a Big West tilt on Friday and then visit top-ranked UCLA Saturday.
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.
