LA JOLLA, Calif. — The seventh-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team dropped a one-goal decision to No. 11 LMU Wednesday night at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
With the non-conference loss the Tritons moved to 9-4 on the season. The Lions improved to 7-4.
It was the annual Battle of the Kings between the two squads. UC San Diego, which won the match-ups in 2025 and 2024, leads the all-time series 11-9.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game was tied 7-7 after three periods of action.Â
LMU broke the tie when Caden Poulleau netted a goal at the 6:16 mark of the fourth to put the Lions ahead 8-7. UC San Diego's
Jackson Boettner knotted it back up when he tallied his third goal of the game with 2:49 remaining in the fourth.
Just 17 seconds later, UC San Diego was called for an exclusion and LMU's Gabrijel Burburan capitalized, scoring an extra-man goal at 2:33. Burburan wasn't done as he scored again at 1:29, putting his team ahead 10-8.
With nine seconds left, Boettner netted his fourth goal of the night, but it would also be the final goal of the night.
Five other Tritons potted single goals including
Finn Bugelli,
Dusan Djordjevic,
Christian Hammonds,
Grant Kurtz, and
Lachlan Rossi.Â
In goal for UC San Diego,
Alex Hegeman finished with 10 saves, which included multiple point-blank stops.
LMU's Bence Barics scored four times, meaning he and Burburan accounted for seven of the Lions' 10 goals. Pablo De Souza turned aside nine UC San Diego scoring bids.
Both goalies stymied a five-meter penalty shot.
UC San Diego held a 28-24 lead in shots. The Tritons converted four of 11 power play opportunities while the Lions went three-for-seven.
HEAD COACH MATT USTASZEWSKI INTERVIEW
TRITON TIDBITS
• The game drew an attendance of 982.
• The first Battle of the Kings took place in 2005.
• UC San Diego has out-scored LMU 216 to 188 over the series.
• With his goal tonight,
Christian Hammonds kept his streak of scoring in every game this season alive.
•
Jackson Boettner has also scored in all 13 games in 2026.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego is off until Oct. 2 when it competes at the Gary Troyer Tournament in Claremont, Calif. The Tritons open their Big West season on Oct. 9 at Long Beach State.Â
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.
