LA JOLLA, Calif. -Â A last-second goal by Loyola Marymount was the difference maker Saturday evening as the Lions downed the UC San Diego women's water polo team, 9-8, at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
With the loss, the Tritons record is now even at 5-5. LMU improved to 8-3.
Six different UC San Diego players contributed goals with senior
Sofia Munatones registering a hat trick. Freshman
Caitlin Stayt also had three points with a goal and a pair of assists.
It was the second one-goal game of the season between the two squads. At last week's Triton Invitational in La Jolla, the Lions earned an 8-7 victory over UC San Diego.
UC San Diego is ranked 13th in both of this week's national polls. LMU is ranked No. 9 and No. 11.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Emison Styris was the main cog in LMU's late scoring flurry. With UC San Diego ahead 8-7, Styris evened it up by scoring with 42 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Following a timeout by the Lions, Styris collected a shot rebound on the right side of the Triton net and buried the game-winner just before the final buzzer signaled the end of the game.
LMU led 3-1 after the opening quarter with
Olivia Obando scoring UC San Diego's lone goal of the period.
The Tritons turned it around in the second frame, scoring three times while keeping the Lions off the board. Stayt and
Alexa Kraaijvanger went back-to-back in under a minute of play to knot it at 3-3 at the 6:39 mark. UC San Diego earned its first lead when Munatones scored on a power play with 15 seconds until halftime.
Both teams netted two goals in the third quarter. Munatones scored the first of the period, giving the Tritons a two-goal advantage at 5-3. A later Triton goal by
Abigail Schechter had her team up 6-4 with 2:41 on the clock in the third. Styris notched the game's next two goals - one in the third, the other in the fourth - to make it 6-6 with just under eight minutes left in the game. Munatones earned her hat trick at 6:34, which gave UC San Diego a 7-6 Triton lead.
The scoring was dormant for over five minutes until Kawehi Kauahi scored for LMU, bringing it even again, this time at 7-7. With 1:06 on the clock, a
Sydney Munatones score gave UC San Diego its final lead of the game, 8-7, before Styris scored two more times to close out the battle.
Triton goaltender
Bria Zwaschka finished with eight saves, three steals, and an assist.
SARAH LIZOTTE INTERVIEW
UP NEXT
UC San Diego is off until Feb. 20 when it opens its Big West season at UC Irvine.
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.
