SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The No. 10 UC Santa Barbara Men's Water Polo team went undefeated on day one of the Triton Invitational on Saturday, defeating Redlands 18-6 and Loyola Marymount 10-6.
The Gauchos (2-0) were led offensively by junior Ivan Gvozdanovic, who had a pair of multi-goal efforts for a total of five goals. Boris Jovanovic, Blake Spiller and Chad Nelson all finished with three goals apiece.
With the pair of wins, UCSB improves to a 12-4 record at the Triton Invitational since 2014.
UCSB vs. Redlands
It didn't take long for the Gauchos to make their mark on the new season, as Lott put away the first of six opening quarter goals at the 7:00 mark. That began UCSB's highest-scoring frame of the day. Goals from Fellner and Gvozdanovic would soon follow to put Santa Barbara up 3-0, as it went on to take a 6-3 lead into the second.
UCSB's defense would stiffen up in the second period, holding the Bulldogs to a single goal. The Gauchos meanwhile put away five unanswered before the half, taking a commanding 11-4 lead into the break.
In the third, UCSB outscored Redlands 3-2, with goals coming from Fellner, Mason McQuet and Nathan Puentes. The Gauchos went on to score the final four goals of the day, enjoying their first shutout quarter of the season in the fourth quarter.
Spiller led the way with a hat trick, while six other Gauchos scored twice.
UCSB vs. Loyola Marymount
The second game of the day got out to a much slower start, as UCSB and LMU matched each other with one goal apiece heading into the second period. Gvozdanovic opened the scoring with a goal at the 5:07 mark of the first.
UCSB would find separation over the next two quarters, as six different Gauchos scored to give them a 7-1 lead with 3:15 to go in the third.
LMU fought back with three unanswered goals of their own, cutting the lead to 7-4 with 7:05 remaining in the game. However, that's the closest the Lions would get the rest of the way, as both teams traded goals until the eventual 10-6 final scoreline.
Gvozdanovic was the only Gaucho to strike more than once in the game, recording his first hat trick of the year.
Next Up
The Gauchos return to action tomorrow for two more games to close out the weekend.
