No. 4 seed UC San Diego men’s water polo (21-10, 2-3 Big West) fell to No. 1 seed Long Beach State (17-9, 5-0 Big West) 11-8 in the 2025 Big West Championship semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 22.
The loss was eerily reminiscent of LBSU’s 10-8 win over UCSD in last season’s Big West Championship final. The Tritons’ hopes of earning an NCAA berth were crushed for the second consecutive year by the same team.
This year, though, the loss was even more bitter. The day before the semifinal, UCSD fended off No. 5 seed UC Irvine (15-12, 2-3 Big West) in the first round, denying the Anteaters the chance to compete at home in the semifinals the following day. A five-goal hot streak in the second half powered UCSD’s 11-8 victory on Friday, Nov. 21.
Going into the semifinals, the Tritons had the odds stacked against them.
“We knew it would be a difficult challenge, and we are proud of the way we fought and the way we prepared,” head coach Matt Ustaszewski said in a postgame interview.
The match commenced with LBSU taking control of the ball — a subtle foreshadowing for the rest of the game.
Freshman attacker Jackson Boettner scored the first goal of the game — a powerful shot that easily made its way to the back of the net — but LBSU wasted no time in responding. After some back and forth between the teams, the first period ended with LBSU in the lead 3-2.
Over the next two periods, Long Beach’s advantage grew to as many as 5 points, with the Tritons only managing to score once in each period — but not for lack of trying. The Tritons attempted 36 shots over the course of the game, but only eight made it past LBSU sophomore goalkeeper Joe Jenness, who made 14 saves in the game.
“We rushed in the first half, we rushed some of our decision-making on the offensive end, and that’s not a good strategy against a dangerous team,” Ustaszewski said.
Entering the last period, LBSU was ahead 9-4. Triton fans saw a brief glimpse of hope in the last eight minutes; UCSD managed to score four times in the span of four minutes, but just as it seemed in range of victory, LBSU pulled ahead and ended the game, winning 11-8.
“It’s bittersweet,” Ustaszewski said. “The seniors were great, and they performed very well this weekend, and they really want it, so I feel for them. They’re definitely a group that put us on the map.”
The day before, the Tritons swept UCI on their way to the semifinal match. The teams traded off goals, though the Anteaters managed to take a narrow 6-5 lead by the end of the second period.
Though UCSD didn’t outscore the Anteaters until the third quarter, the Tritons consistently took more shots throughout the match. UCSD attackers hammered down 32 shot attempts to UCI’s 20, but the Triton defense struggled to maintain pressure around the perimeter early in the game.
Coming out of the break, the Tritons smothered UCI’s offense, keeping the Anteaters scoreless for more than 16 minutes while UCSD went on a 7-0 scoring run. The Tritons scored five goals in the third quarter alone. Senior utility player Brendon Fezzey converted for a goal on a power play to put UCSD in the lead for the first time since the opening period.
“We opened up our offense a little bit in the second half,” Ustaszewski said. “We were a little clogged, for lack of a better phrase, and ultimately that helped us get some more movement. … So, even though the shots might have looked different in the second half, it stemmed from our defensive effort and intensity.”
Though UCI managed to sneak in two more goals — a penalty shot and last-second lob shot — late in the fourth, fans of the home team had little hope in the face of UCSD’s commanding lead. The Tritons rode their third-quarter momentum to an 11-8 win that punched their ticket to the following day’s semifinal match against LBSU.
The victory marked a comfortable improvement from the last time the two faced each other, two weeks ago, when the Tritons eked out a narrow 9-8 win.
“At the end of the day, we want to be playing our best here, this weekend, and the only way you get to playing in December is that you play your best in the third weekend of November,” Ustaszewski said.
Ultimately, the Tritons’ momentum wouldn’t be enough to carry them to the NCAA championships. No. 3 seed UC Davis defeated the Beach 12-11 in the final on Sunday, Nov. 23, winning the 2025 conference title and earning an NCAA berth. With the backbone of the Triton offense graduating, the team will look to regroup ahead of the 2026 season.
