STANFORD, Calif. — The No. 9 UC San Diego men's water polo team split a pair of games Saturday on day two of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Invite.
Starting the day off against No. 1-ranked UCLA, the Tritons fell by a score of 16-8. They rebounded to earn a hard-fought 11-9 victory over Big West opponent UC Irvine.
To round out the invitational, UC San Diego will face another conference foe, sixth-ranked Long Beach State, in the fifth place game Sunday at 11 a.m. Action can be followed with a
live stream by Overnght.com.
Stanford is hosting the tournament at the Avery Aquatic Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST UC IRVINE
The Tritons scored the first two goals of the game and kept the pressure on, securing a 6-1 advantage with just over three minutes before the halftime break.
At that point, the Anteaters came alive, scoring the game's next six goals, putting them up 7-6Â with 4:54 remaining in the third quarter.
After trading goals, first-year Triton
Jack Wright scored consecutive times to put UC San Diego up 9-8 at the end of the third.
Midway through the fourth, UCI's Johann Thrall knotted the score at 9-9. However, the Tritons closed out the game with back-to-back goals from
Mason Presley and
Grant Kurtz. The Kurtz strike came with 3:31 on the clock and UC San Diego was able to hold UC Irvine scoreless for that span.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST UCLA
The first three goals of the game were scored by the Bruins and they stayed ahead the whole way.
The Tritons got on the board when
Jackson Boettner found the back of the net at 2:58 of the opening frame.
UCLA won the first half 9-3.Â
The second half saw both teams score three times in the third.
Jaime Bhattacharyya and
Christian Hammonds each totaled three points with a goal and two assists for the Tritons.
Boettner and
Mason Presley both scored twice while
Finn Bugelli and
Liam Amburgey each had a goal.
Ryder Dodd and Luka Gladovic each produced hat tricks for the Bruins.
TRITON TIDBITS
The invitational features the top four NCAA Division I teams in the country and 15 of 16 teams are ranked in the Division I national top-20.
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.
