SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Men's Water Polo team has well and truly reached the final stretch of their 2023 campaign, with just two regular season games left before The Big West Championship. The Gauchos will play their final home contest of the season on Sunday, October 29, as they host UC San Diego for Senior Day.
 
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH
The Gauchos and Tritons will meet at Dos Pueblos High School on Sunday, with a start time set at 12 noon. Before the game, UC Santa Barbara will honor their graduating seniors in a ceremony beginning at 11:45 a.m.
 
For the first time this season, the game will be open to the public, although at limited capacity. Fans on the pass list will be guaranteed admission to the game, with the remaining seats available to the public on a first come, first served basis until capacity is reached. Admission to the game will be free on Sunday.
 
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAUCHOS (14-12, 1-2 Big West)
UC Santa Barbara is looking to snap a three-game losing streak on Sunday after a tough week last week. The Gauchos dropped close home matches against Princeton and UC Irvine, both by a single goal, and suffered a defeat against the undefeated top team in the nation, UCLA, in Los Angeles. Still, UC Santa Barbara remains at No. 10 in both the CWPA and ACWPC rankings this week.
 
Center Dash McFarland was a bright spot last week, continuing his tremendous season and making his way into UC Santa Barbara's record books. With a conference-best 76 goals on the season, McFarland now owns the ninth-highest scoring season in Gauchos' history. The school record may be out of reach at 91, set by Ben Gage in 1970. The most goals a Gaucho has scored in a season in the 21^st century is 82, done by Milos Gogic in 2008, very much in reach for McFarland, who is averaging just under a hat-trick per game this season.
 
Adam Gyenis has provided a potent second option in attack for UC Santa Barbara this season, scoring a career-best 48 goals, which would have led the team by far last season. The Hungarian also has an impressive 23 assists on the season, although does not crack the conference's top 10 list in that category. Brock Zamanian and Mason Chambliss both do, with 31 and 27 assists putting them fourth and eighth, respectively.
 
SCOUTING THE TRITONS (13-11, 2-1 Big West)
UC San Diego comes into the weekend just above the Gauchos in The Big West standings and just below them in the national rankings. The Tritons are tied for No. 11 in this week's ACWPC poll and are No. 12 in the CWPA rankings. UC San Diego will be looking for its first win over UC Santa Barbara in eight straight matches on Sunday, going back to 2014.
 
The Gauchos and Tritons have met once already this season, with Santa Barbara coming out on top, 15-11, during The Big West-WCC Clash in Irvine. Dash McFarland scored four goals and Adam Gyenis added a hat-trick for the Gauchos, while UC San Diego got two-goal games from top scorer Landon Akerstrom, Brendon Feezy, Ante Buzov and Lucas Romaguera.
 
Romaguera, the junior attacker from Brazil, leads the Tritons in points this season with 63, tied with the team's lone senior, Kaden Likins. Likins leads UC San Diego and ranks second in The Big West with 35 assists, Romaguera ranks second on the team with 30. Top goal-scorer Landon Akerstrom is the only Triton with 40 goals this season, at 42, though Bennet Axline is close behind with 39.
 
However, the headline of the Tritons lineup is arguably the man in the cage, goalkeeper Logan Estes. The six-foot-nine keeper leads The Big West with 186 saves and is coming off a career-best performance against Loyola Marymount last weekend, making 14 stops.
 
UC San Diego has some speedy swimmers on their roster too, with Felipe Ferreira's 32-10 record in sprints giving him the best win percentage in the conference (.762). Akerstrom ranks fourth with a .636 sprint win percentage (21-12).