The UCSD men’s water polo team gathered with the top teams in the nation at the Avery Aquatic Center at Stanford University over the weekend for the Nor-Cal Water Polo Tournament.
Saturday morning, the Tritons met with the 9th-ranked UC Irvine Anteaters and took a difficult loss. Each team managed one goal in the first period, but Irvine broke away with four goals in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the Tritons only managed one and fell behind, 5-2.
The Anteaters scored four more goals after the half, and the Tritons found the net only three times. Down by four points in the final period, UCSD tried to come back. The team brought itself within one point of Irvine with an impressive run of three unanswered goals, but fell short with a final score of 9-8.
Senior Brett Allan led the Tritons with four goals, and senior Jonathan Samuels scored two. Senior Vladimir Djapic and junior Paul Motschall each scored once. Junior goalie Lance Onkin had eight saves in the loss.
The loss forced the Tritons, who were ranked No. 7 going into the tournament, into the lower bracket of the tournament.
In its second game of the day, UCSD took revenge upon unranked Santa Clara University.
The Tritons opened the first quarter by scoring six goals against Santa Clara’s two. The Tritons scored five goals over the next two periods while holding Santa Clara scoreless. In the final period, Santa Clara scored once, which was too little, far too late.
Junior Kellan Hori had a hat trick for the Tritons while Allan, Djapic and freshman Brandon Borso each added two. Motschall and freshman Jonathan Hopkins both contributed one goal to the victory.
The Tritons were ready to go Sunday. In their first game, they played 19th-ranked Cal Baptist, a team they had already faced earlier this year and easily dispatched. The Tritons started quickly, outscoring Cal Baptist 5-2 in the first quarter.
In the second and third quarters, the teams alternated 4-3 scoring, ending the third period 12-9 in UCSD’s favor. The Tritons ended any hope for the Lancers by scoring four goals in the fourth quarter while allowing only one. Eight players scored during the game, most notably Djapic, who scored five goals, and Jonathan Samuels, who scored three.
In their final game of the tournament, UCSD found themselves squaring off against No. 8-ranked UC Santa Barbara. Official rankings predicted that this would be a close game. The Tritons, however, dominated in what was to be a remarkably one-sided display.
Setting the tempo, UCSD outmatched UCSB 3-1 in the first quarter. The second quarter was even more lopsided when the Tritons pounded the Gauchos 5-1. By the end of the first half, UCSD went into the locker room with a commanding 8-2 lead. The only other goal of the game was scored in the third quarter by the Tritons. In the end, UCSD showed its dominance over UCSB, demolishing the Gauchos 9-2.
Great defense and goaltending were key in this game. Samuels again turned in a solid performance, scoring a game-high three goals. Allan and Hopkins each had two goals in the game, while Djapic and Jendrusina each tossed in one.
After the loss on Saturday, the Tritons made the best of their situation and did what they had to do. The Tritons’ record still stands at an impressive 14-2. They next take on the No. 6-ranked Long Beach State 49ers at home Oct. 19 at 6 p.m.
