LA JOLLA, Calif. - The 11th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team (6-7) plays five matches in three days this week. On Friday, the Tritons travel to Orange to take on Chapman (7-8) at 4:00 p.m. UCSD continues on its road trip on October 10-11 at the UC Irvine Invitational. The Tritons open the 16-team tournament with a third meeting with No. 5 Loyola Marymount (10-2). UCSD will either take on Cal or Pacific in its second game on Saturday. Last season the Tritons went 2-2 in the tournament (formerly the Southern California Tournament), with wins over Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara.
Chapman is 7-8 this season and has won its last four games. Last week Chapman defeated Harvard, Washington and Jefferson, Cal Lutheran and George Washington. The win over Cal Lutheran and George Washington are the only common opponents the Panthers and Tritons have this season.
Alex Mule of Chapman leads the nation in scoring with 61 goals in 15 games this year. Steve Neville has added 22 goals while Pierre Masson has scored 18 times. Austin McElvaney has a team-high 33 assists and 44 steals. Collin Gasper leads Chapman with 125 saves.
At the 2008 Southern California Tournament, the Tritons opened with an 8-7 win over Long Beach State. Later that day, the Tritons battled with No. 2 UCLA before falling by a 12-9 score. On the second day, the Tritons lost to Loyola Marymount 15-12 in overtime. UCSD rounded out the tournament with a sudden death OT victory over UC Santa Barbara.
Loyola Marymount has two wins against UCSD this season. Last week the Lions defeated UC Davis by an 8-4 score. In 2008, LMU was led by Tibor Forai with 53 goals and Edgaras Asajavicius with 49 scores. Andy Stevens made 309 saves and allowed 209 goals.
The Tritons are aiming for their second winning streak of the season. Earlier this year, the Tritons defeated George Washington and Johns Hopkins for their only back-to-back wins of the year.
Steven Donohoe leads the Tritons with 30 goals scored. Sean Cruz has scored 19 goals while Bryce Madsen has added 15 scores. Brian Donohoe leads the team with 16 assists, while Sean Roberts and Kneif Lohse have added 13 assists apiece.
The Tritons return home to host UC Santa Barbara on October 16 to kick-off homecoming weekend.
