On Saturday, April 19, No. 13 UC San Diego women’s water polo (16-13, 4-3 Big West) battled its crosstown rivals, No. 21 San Diego State Aztecs (14-13, 4-3 Mountain West), at Canyonview Aquatic Center, triumphing 18-16 in the final match of the regular season. This Harper Cup game was also Senior Day for the Tritons, who celebrated their eight graduating seniors in front of a raucous home crowd.
The Harper Cup, first held in 2002, is an annual rivalry game between UCSD and SDSU that commemorates SDSU alumnus and former UCSD water polo coach Denny Harper. The Tritons have a long history of success against the Aztecs in the Harper Cup, having won the last nine games. But on Saturday, the two teams were neck-and-neck until a fierce fourth quarter gave the Tritons a last-minute victory in the highest-scoring Harper Cup to date.
Senior attacker Courtney Okumura won the sprint for the Tritons to begin the first period, but UCSD’s first shot attempt, a lob by senior utility player Caroline Christl, hit the post. On the next possession, Okumura scored UCSD’s first goal of the game to tie the score 1-1. The Tritons and the Aztecs chased each other for the rest of the first period, scoring back-and-forth goals to stay in contact.
The Tritons found themselves down 5-4 with two minutes remaining in the quarter. Sophomore utility player Abigail Schechter made a steal to try to level with the Aztecs, but the ensuing attempt from freshman utility player Holly Roberts fell short. SDSU’s narrow 5-4 lead foreshadowed the nail-biting tie that would define the rest of the game.
“This game is so intense, but it’s such good camaraderie too, and there’s so much love for both sides,” senior center Kendall Thomas said in a postgame interview with The UCSD Guardian. “And so it always makes it so competitive. It’s probably the best game of the year.”
UCSD opened the scoring in the second period with junior attacker Sydney Munatones winning the sprint and allowing the Tritons to pressure the cage. Though the Aztec defense almost coaxed UCSD into a turnover, senior center defender Lucia Doak recovered the ball to assist Munatones and tie the game 5-5. The Tritons matched the Aztecs’ attacks goal for goal, but a series of unsuccessful late-quarter UCSD shot attempts left them stuck in a 9-9 deadlock at the break.
The Tritons came out of halftime determined to break the tight scoreline. San Diego State scored on the opening play, but Thomas responded by launching a close-range shot toward the Aztec keeper, who made a deft save. The Tritons got the rebound, and Thomas fired a corner shot to bring the rivals to a tie once again at 11-11.
Christl slotted a shot over the Aztec defenders’ reach to score next. With a minute left in the period and the score tied at 12-12, Okumura made a steal, and an exclusion was called on San Diego State. With a man advantage, Thomas scored a goal to put UCSD in the lead 13-12. Both teams went scoreless for the remainder of the quarter, with each goalie shutting down their cage.
Eager to claim a home victory, the Tritons locked down their defense at the start of the fourth quarter — denying the Aztecs a goal in their first two possessions. However, an SDSU fastball found the cage on the ensuing attempt, evaporating the Tritons’ narrow lead and making it 13-13.
Thomas and Christl fought to break the tie, each contributing a goal minutes later — yet, both were followed by SDSU goals on the ensuing possessions. Though the Triton attacks remained relentless, UCSD’s defense struggled to hold up against the Aztec offense.
With just under two minutes left in the match, an SDSU penalty shot brought the score to 16-16. Both teams were feeling the pressure to break the tie and claim a decisive victory before the end of regulation. Amid the growing tension, Triton head coach Brad Keutzkamp received a yellow-red card.
Doak sent a shot to the corner of the goal to give UCSD a 17-16 edge. A prompt turnover gave the Tritons possession with under a minute left in the match and their ninth Harper Cup victory in sight.
“We’re all just feeling like, ‘Yes, this is the last time we were playing in this pool as seniors,’” Thomas said. “And also, on the flip side, it’s the last time we’re playing with these girls who we love so much who aren’t seniors. It’s like, ‘Okay, we only have a couple minutes left. We might as well just go out there and play for each other and just leave it all out there.’ We were able to feed off each other’s energy and just realize it’s all or nothing.”
UCSD bided its time, with Okumura and Christl passing around the outside to run down the shot clock. Christl eventually found an opening and beat the goalie to score with a goal that brought UCSD up 18-16.
With 10 seconds remaining, the Tritons just had to hold onto the lead. Freshman goalie Makana Fake saved the next Aztec shot, and Doak treaded with the ball to run out the last few seconds.
The buzzer went off, sounding out victory for the Tritons in the last home match that the eight graduating seniors will play at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
“There’s something about having a big crowd like that,” Thomas said. “That was so cool to hear everybody cheering. And to have the men’s team behind the cage, that was so special too. There’s just a lot of love here in the water, on the bench, with the coaches, with our family and our friends. So, it’s just a really prideful thing for every single person here, like seniors and all the way down to freshmen.”
Thomas had reason to be proud — after the game, she was awarded the Karen Crawford Harper Cup MVP Award for the third straight year.
“We played a lot of really amazing teams [and had a] really stacked schedule this year, and so I think we’ve really been able to be tested,” Thomas said. “Everything we’ve been doing is finally leading up to this weekend. We’re all really excited to have a good weekend and put it all out there.”
UCSD will head up to UC Irvine next weekend to compete in the 2025 Big West championships from April 25-27. The Tritons, who haven’t advanced past the Big West semifinals in the last four seasons, will look to carry their Harper Cup momentum into the postseason.
