Season Ends with Loss Against Hawai‘i in Big West Semifinal

IRVINE, Calif. — The UC San Diego women’s water polo team saw its season come to an end Saturday following an 11-9 loss against Hawai’i in a Big West Championship semifinal match-up.

The ninth-ranked Tritons served as the fourth seed while the fourth-ranked Rainbow Wahine are the top seed.

UC San Diego defeated UC Davis, the fifth seed, in Friday’s quarterfinal round to advance.

Hawai’i topped eighth-seeded Cal State Fullerton Friday. The Wahine will face Long Beach State, the No. 2 seed, in Sunday’s championship game.

UC Irvine is hosting the championship at Anteater Aquatics Complex.  

HOW IT HAPPENED

UC San Diego got on the board first when Courtney Okumura found the net at the 5:40 mark of the opening quarter. Hawai’i tied it up 22 seconds later on a Camille Radosavljevic strike. The teams traded goals again when Caroline Christl scored for UC San Diego at 1:15 and Bernadette Doyle evened it up at 2-2 with just under a minute to play in the period. Triton Abby Moll gave UC San Diego a 3-2 edge when she scored with 12 seconds left. Unfortunately, it was the only quarter that the Tritons won.

Just two goals were scored in the second quarter, both by the Rainbow Wahine. They came late in the period when Bernadette Doyle and Jordan Wedderburn went back-to-back in the final four seconds, giving Hawai’i at 4-3 lead going into the halftime break. Wedderburn’s goal came on a powerplay.

The third quarter was the busiest as far as goal-scoring with seven shots ending up in the net – four by Hawai’i and three by UC San Diego. Christl got things going with a five-meter penalty shot goal 15 seconds in, evening the game at 4-4. The Wahine scored the next two goals, one at 7:24 by Doyle, the other at 6:33 by Ema Vernoux. The first was on a penalty shot, the second on a powerplay.

Christl scored two more times in the second quarter, while Wedderburn and Vernoux also found the net again, making the score 8-6 Hawai’i heading into the fourth.

Christl started the final period with a power play goal, bringing the Tritons within one at 8-7. Sydney Munatones followed, scoring at 5:16 to tie it up at 8-8. That would be the final time it was tied as Hawai’i got two-straight goals from Doyle to put her team ahead 10-8. Christl scored yet again at 2:10, but Wedderman scored the game’s final goal at 1:23 on another penalty shot.

Christl led all players with six goals. Munatones dished out four assists and Kendall Thomas drew five exclusions.

Lexi Stahl was solid in net for the Tritons, finishing with eight saves. The senior denied two penalty shots, made several diving stops, and stayed in front of multiple point-blank bids by the Wahine. 

Doyle scored five goals for Hawai’i and Wedderburn tallied three. Daisy Logtens had 11 saves.

The Tritons had a 30-27 advantage in shots. They were whistled for 14 exclusions and the Rainbow Wahine had six. In addition, UC San Diego was called for five penalties to Hawai’i’s one.

TRITON TIDBITS
• UC San Diego lost to Hawai’i, 12-7, on April 10 in La Jolla.
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About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world’s preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.