Coming off a heartbreaking 7-8 overtime loss to Stanford on Oct. 15, the No. 6 UCSD men’s water polo team began day two of the Northern California Open Tournament with a matchup against No. 7 UC Irvine, walking away with an 11-10 win.
The Anteaters came out strong in the first quarter, outscoring the Tritons 3-4, but the Tritons captured the lead before the end of the first half, scoring four goals to Irvine’s two to make the score 7-6 at intermission.
The Triton men then repeated their performance in the third quarter, adding another four goals and holding the Anteaters to two goals for an 11-8 lead.
The Anteaters made a last-ditch effort in the fourth quarter to capture the win, but came up a goal short, adding two more goals to their total and holding the Tritons scoreless.
Nonetheless, the Tritons earned an 11-10 win in their first game against UC Irvine this season, propelling them to the fifth-place match of the tournament.
Senior Jonathan Hopkins contributed five goals in the Tritons’ win, while senior Brandon Borso and sophomore Adnan Jerkovic added two goals apiece. Seniors Kevin Smoker and Chris Finegold also netted one goal each, while senior goalkeeper Colin McElroy had seven saves in the win.
The victory sent the Tritons to their fourth game of the Northern California tournament just three hours later.
The men battled then-No. 7 Pepperdine for fifth place in the 16-team tournament, losing 7-12 in their worst defeat of the season.
The game began evenly matched, with each team at three goals apiece at the end of the first quarter before the Waves opened their lead in the second quarter by outscoring the Tritons 2-3.
Pepperdine didn’t start pulling away until the fourth quarter, when the Waves scored four goals to the Tritons’ one, making the final score 7-12.
Hopkins scored three goals in the win, increasing his season total to 75, while McElroy made nine saves to Pepperdine goalkeeper Ben Tait’s eight. Jerkovic also contributed two more goals, while Borso and senior Chris Eichholz added one goal each.
After Sunday’s split games, the Tritons’ overall record was extended to 20-4.
The Tritons will have the opportunity to seek revenge on No. 5 Pepperdine with a match set for Thursday in Malibu, their first nontournament matchup. The men will follow the Pepperdine game with a highly anticipated battle the next day against No. 4 UCLA.
Then the Tritons will have four games before the start of the Western Water Polo Association Tournament starting Nov. 17.
