On Saturday, Nov. 8, No. 10 UC San Diego men’s water polo (20-9, 2-3 Big West) overcame Biola University (7-19, 3-1 WWPA) in a thrilling 13-7 Senior Day victory at Canyonview Aquatic Center. The match marked UCSD’s third consecutive win, though the team’s hot streak came to an end in Sunday’s 18-14 loss to No. 14 Loyola Marymount (13-10, 3-3 WCC).
UCSD entered the Saturday matinee match looking to notch a win in its last home game of the season. Following the Biola victory and LMU loss, UCSD finishes the 2025 season with a 20-9 overall record. The Tritons will enter the Big West Championship, which kicks off in Irvine on Nov. 21, as the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.
The Tritons were dominant in the first quarter. After the teams traded empty possessions for four minutes, goals by graduate student attacker Felipe Ferreira, junior attacker Mason Presley, and senior utility player Brandon Fezzey established a commanding UCSD advantage.
With one minute left in the period, Presley delivered a spectacular pass to senior utility player Luca Rago for a clean finish, giving the Tritons a 4-0 lead. A buzzer-beating goal by sophomore attacker Grant Kurtz gave UCSD its fifth goal of the period, resulting in a 5-0 lead after eight minutes. Biola struggled to score against the Tritons’ interior defense thanks to well-timed steals by Rago and handy saves by senior goalkeeper Winston Loh.
Senior utility player Bennett Axline scored an early goal on a fast break to get the second quarter off to a blazing start. Loh played a pivotal role as a defensive stopper throughout the first half, with six saves by halftime. The Tritons ended their commanding first half with an 8-1 lead.
“It’s definitely the field players,” Loh said in a postgame interview with The UCSD Guardian. “I give all the credit to them. They came out strong defensively, which allowed me to have more saves.”
However, this momentum took a drastic shift in the third quarter. Just 30 seconds into the second half, Eagle senior utility player Nick Murray shot a demanding slam from a fast sequence to reduce Biola’s deficit to six goals. Biola maintained its newfound momentum, contributing four goals to the Tritons’ two. Ultimately, though, it wouldn’t be enough to cut UCSD’s lead — the Tritons maintained a steady defense and fast-paced ball movement to defeat Biola with a score of 13-7. Rago recorded a career-high four steals while Loh, in goal, made nine saves in his first start as a Triton.
After the Tritons’ home game victory against Biola, they headed north for their final regular season game against LMU on Sunday, Nov. 9. Lion junior attacker Abel Romero Corbalan racked up 10 goals in UCSD’s 18-14 loss.
With less than two weeks before the Big West Championships get underway, UCSD has its sights set on the first round — a rematch against No. 16 UC Irvine, who the Tritons beat 9-8 on Friday, Nov. 7.
“I’m feeling super stoked,” Loh said. “Players’ practices are going amazingly; everything’s clicking well.”
UCSD, which fell 10-8 to Long Beach State in the championship final last year, hopes to leverage its postseason experience and 20-win season to take home the coveted Big West title.
