SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara men's water polo team opened its 2019 season with a pair of victories in the first day of the 2019 Triton Invitational on Saturday.

Game 1 – No. 7 UC Santa Barbara 12, Concordia 7

After a tight first quarter that saw Concordia finish with a 3-2 lead, the Gauchos roared back with six goals, split evenly among six different players, to lead 8-5 at the half. UCSB would eventually win by a five-goal margin, 12-7, after outscoring Concordia 4-2 in the second half.

Junior attacker Cole Brosnan led the way for the Gauchos with three goals, while sophomore driver Ryan Brosnan and sophomore attacker Sam Nangle had two apiece.

Senior goalkeeper Justyn Barrios made two saves in the season opener.

Game 2 – No. 7 UC Santa Barbara 11, No. 7 Pepperdine 5

In a battle of preseason Golden Coast Conference favorites, the Gauchos powered past No. 7 Pepperdine thanks in no small part to goalkeeper Danny Roland's ten saves, two of which came when the Waves had the man advantage.

UCSB jumped out to a 4-1 advantage in the first quarter thanks to goals from the trio of Cole Brosnan, senior attacker Jacob Halle, and Nangle.

Pepperdine cut the Gauchos' lead to 4-3 by scoring the first two goals of the second quarter, but senior utility Ivan Gvozdanovic's goal with 2:55 left in the half and sophomore attacker Tommy Hawkins' pair of goals in the final minute before halftime saw UCSB take a 7-4 lead into the break.

Santa Barbara added a pair of goals via redshirt freshman center Adam Lott and sophomore driver Nathan Puentes in the third quarter, and junior attacker Alan Peoples and junior defender Mason McQuet's fourth-quarter scores cemented the win.

The Gauchos play two more games in the 2019 Triton Invitational tomorrow, beginning with No. 4 Cal at 11:10 a.m. Follow the Gauchos' progress in the tournament here.

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