Despite having eight different players on the scoresheet, the No. 14 UC Santa Barbara Men’s Water Polo team just could not get anything to go their way on Friday night in La Jolla, falling to No. 13 UC San Diego, 16-8.
The result ends a streak of seven consecutive victories over the Tritons, with the Gauchos’ last loss to UC San Diego coming all the way back in 2014.
Eight different players scored for Santa Barbara on Friday night, but the Gauchos could not keep pace with the hosting Tritons.
Brock Zamanian got on the scoresheet early in the first quarter, but it took Ryan McManigal and Nico Furneaux scoring later on in the frame to limit Santa Barbara’s deficit to just two goals, 5-3, after the opening eight minutes.
Adam Gyenis and Sam McKenzie scored for the Gauchos in the second quarter, but UC San Diego again put up five goals in the frame to lead 10-5 at halftime.
The Tritons scored four more in the third, while Finn Genc’s goal was the only score for the Gauchos in that quarter. Danilo Dragovic and Landon Lassahn scored to match the Tritons’ two fourth-quarter goals, but the game was already out of reach.
Over the course of the match, the Gauchos were whistled for four five-meter penalty fouls, and the Tritons converted all four. UC San Diego also turned five of their seven powerplay opportunities into goals, while Santa Barbara scored on just two of their nine six-on-five chances.
The Gauchos return to Santa Barbara for their final two matches of the regular season, hosting No. 11 Long Beach State and No. 2 USC at Santa Barbara High School on Nov. 9 and 10, respectively.
Both games will begin at 12 noon and will be live on ESPN+ with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.