Tritons fall in 10-4 decision to No. 8 49ers, now hold losing record.
No. 15 UCSD took on No. 8 Cal State Long Beach at Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center and could not pull off the upset, losing 10–4. Despite a good first half, the Tritons could not hold off the 49ers in the second half, scoring only three goals to Long Beach’s seven. UCSD fell down to a negative 9–10 record while Cal State Long Beach improved to 7–9.
The 49ers’ freshman defender Austin Stevenson opened the score on a penalty shot after just 24 seconds of play. After freshman defender Keegan Wicken doubled the score on a 6-on-5 situation, UCSD finally broke through and scored through junior driver Andy Moore with 1:18 left in the first quarter.
After the first quarter ended a 2–1 in favor of the home team, Cal State Long Beach’s sophomore attacker Lovro Miocevic scored on another penalty shot during the second quarter, bringing the score to 3–1 at the half. UCSD had a hard time mustering any flow on offense, and it was outshot by the 49ers during the first half.
Even worse, Triton redshirt freshman goalie Jack Turner had zero saves during the second half. Cal State Long Beach jumped to a 5–1 lead before redshirt freshman driver Cole Martinez scored from the two-meter position with 1:39 remaining in the third quarter. Long Beach’s senior defender Josh Tice scored only 26 seconds later, and UCSD entered the final quarter trailing by four goals.
Cal State Long Beach scored three straight goals to begin the fourth quarter, bringing its lead up to 7 at 9–2. It was already too late for the Tritons, who fell to the 49ers despite late goals by junior driver Nick Alexander and Martinez. With one last goal by Cal State Long Beach, the final score stood at 10–4 in favor of the 49ers.
“We did play good defense in the first half,” UCSD Head Coach Denny Harper told the UCSD Athletics Department. “To give up only three goals in a half to a team with that many weapons showed that we are definitely improving, but clearly had some struggles at the offensive end.”
In a dismal offensive performance, Martinez led the Tritons with two goals, while Turner totalled seven shots. For Cal State Long Beach, Miocevic scored a hat trick, with Stevenson and Wicken each adding two goals.
After a rough couple of weeks, UCSD returns home to the Canyonview Aquatic Center for its next game against Air Force on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. In their last matchup at the Kap7 SoCal Tournament on Oct. 11, Air Force defeated UCSD 10–5.
