Sept. 5, 2015 LA JOLLA, Calif. -
True freshmen
Ido Goldschmidt and
Sasa Antunovic combined for seven total goals as 13th-ranked UC Davis split its first-day slate at the Triton Invitational men's water polo tournament at UC San Diego's Canyonview Aquatic Center Saturday.
The Aggies lost their morning matchup to defending national-champion UCLA by a 14-4 final, then pulled away late to dispatch Redlands, 13-7. They open the 2015 season at 1-1.
Antunovic scored two goals against the No. 1 Bruins, then added a fourth-quarter strike in the afternoon win over the Bulldogs. Goldschmidt put UC Davis on the board in the first quarter versus UCLA, then netted his first collegiate hat trick against Redlands. They were the only two Aggies to score goals in each contest.
UC Davis scored four unanswered to craft a 4-1 lead in the first quarter against Redlands. Junior Lyle Kipp and senior Sean Grab each converted power-play opportunities while Goldschmidt and sophomore utility Cory Laidig scored on even strength. The Bulldogs rallied back to within one goal before quarter's end, and eventually tied the contest at 5-5 when Matt Shippen and John Koning struck twice within 36 seconds midway through the second.
UC Davis twice traded goals with its former Western Water Polo Association foe in the third, locking up at 7-7 with 3:38 left in the third. However, the Aggies shut down the Bulldogs defensively while responding with six straight goals down the stretch.
UCLA led wire to wire in Saturday's morning matchup, scoring five goals in each of the first two quarters to hold a 10-2 halftime lead. Goldschmidt scored on a 6-on-5 chance in the first, redshirt freshman Riley Venne hit his first collegiate goal with three minutes left in the second, then Antunovic buried goals in each of the third and fourth frames.
Sophomore Spencer Creed totaled 10 saves on the day, splitting time with Jake Becker against UCLA then going the distance in the afternoon victory over Redlands.
UC Davis takes on a pair of top-10 opponents in Sunday's portion of the tournament. The Aggies face No. 8 Pepperdine at 11:10 a.m., then battles No. 7 UC Santa Barbara at 3:10 p.m.
TRITON INVITATIONAL, DAY 1
Hosted by UC San Diego. UC Davis games only.
| No. 13 UC Davis | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 4 |
| No. 1 UCLA | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | - | 14 |
GOALS- UC Davis: Sasa Antunovic 2, Ido Goldschmidt 1, Riley Venne 1. UCLA: Patrick Fellner 4, Joey Fuentes 2, Daniel McClintick 2, Ryder Roberts 1, Matt Farmer 1, Gordon Marshall 1, Alex Roelse 1, Max Irving 1, James Robinson 1.
GOALIE SAVES - UC Davis: Spencer Creed 3, Jake Becker 2. UCLA: Garrett Danner 5, Alex Wolf 4.
| No. 13 UC Davis | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | - | 13 |
| Redlands | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | 7 |
GOALS - UC Davis: Ido Goldschmidt 3, Cory Laidig 2, Lyle Kipp 2, Brock Gordon 2, Sean Grab 1, Wes Lincoln 1, Sasa Antunovic 1, Jacob Ley 1. RU: Kevin Chapa 1, Brendan Yee 1, Kyle Murata 1, Matt Shippen 1, John Koning 1, Mark Zikov 1, Danny Hartwig 1.
GOALIE SAVES - UC Davis: Spencer Creed 7. RU: Chris Sekula 7.
