LA JOLLA, Calif. — Adam Gyenis scored six goals and Dash McFarland continued his march up the Gauchos' single-season goals ranking as the No. 2 seed UC Santa Barbara Men's Water Polo team outlasted No. 3 seed UC San Diego, grinding out a 13-11 win in overtime. McFarland's two goals bring 2023 total to 82, tied for the fifth-highest scoring season in Gauchos history and the joint-highest scoring campaign by a Gaucho in the 21^st century, alongside Milos Golic's 2008 season. Goalkeeper Levi Lentin proved crucial to the victory as well, making 14 saves, including two in the final 45 seconds of regulation to send the game into extra periods.
 
FROM HEAD COACH WOLF WIGO
On the result against UC San Diego:
"We watched two amazing games earlier, UC Davis-Long Beach, UC Davis-Irvine, those games were tight, contested the whole way," Wigo said. "You know, we beat UC San Diego twice, but it's always tough to beat a team a third time, a team that good, they were the No. 3 seed, and they took it to us in that first quarter. We knew it wasn't going to be an easy game, we had to earn it, the guys stayed together, went on a great run, they came back, and we were able to finish it off. A little luck, but some great plays by the guys."
 
On Adam Gyenis' performance and growth as a player:
"Adam has worked really hard this year, put in the work, training so seriously, and he might not always get a six-goal game, but he's put himself in a position to have that performance, especially down the stretch, even after he's made a bunch of big plays. So, the conditioning is there."
 
FROM THE STUDENT-ATHLETES
Adam Gyenis on the team's growth and his role in the offense:
"It's my third year here, and I can say that ever since I've been here, we always had a very talented team, but I've felt that coming here this year, I need to step up if we are successful, I need to play a part," Gyenis said. "The first week, we were ranked outside of the top 10, but we knew that we were better, the chemistry is there, we are playing for each other and it's not just Dash or me leading, it's the whole team. I'm really proud to be part of this team, and hope that we will finish the job tomorrow."
 
Dash McFarland on facing UC Irvine in The Big West Championship Match:
"I think we've made a lot of strides since the last time we've played them, so I think tomorrow they're going to be seeing a whole different Santa Barbara team than they saw a couple weeks ago," McFarland said. "But, you know, they've got some talented guys, Krstic has made a step up for them for sure, so he's someone we've got to be aware of, but I think we actually match up well with them. We have kind of a similar offense to them, so I think that's going to be a really fun game, and we're going to take everything seriously, and we have a good chance to win tomorrow."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The two teams traded goals on their first possessions to open the afternoon's action, but the Tritons pulled ahead as the first quarter continued. Gyenis had a five-meter penalty shot saved that would have put the Gauchos ahead, and the Tritons went ahead shortly afterwards. The teams traded goals again to keep UC San Diego in the lead by one, and then the Tritons rattled off a 3-0 scoring run to end the first quarter leading 5-2.
 
Gyenis did eventually find the back of the cage, scoring less than a minute into the second quarter, kick-starting a Gauchos scoring run. UC Santa Barbara kept the Tritons off the board for the entire second frame while scoring three times to tie the match up, 5-5, at halftime.
 
The Gauchos' scoring run continued into the third, with Gyenis scoring the first goal of the period again, and McFarland fired home his first of the game to make it a 5-0 run and put Santa Barbara ahead, 7-5. That lead became 8-5 after Gyenis converted a penalty shot.
 
UC San Diego got back into the game thanks in part to a penalty of their own. Lentin actually saved the initial attempt, but the referees determined that the Gaucho netminder had come off his line too early and ordered a re-take, which the Tritons converted. They finished the third on a 3-0 run, and it was knotted at 8-8 as the fourth quarter began.
 
The two teams went blow-for-blow to open the final frame, with the Gauchos pulling ahead, 9-8, and then 10-9, only for the Tritons to come back and tie it each time. With 4:30 left to play, Gyenis nearly un-tied the scores, but his powerful shot ricocheted out off the inside of the goalpost. At the other end of the pool, the Hungarian made two huge field blocks as neither team could find a go-ahead score.
 
With the final minute ticking away, the Tritons drew up a play out of a timeout, but Brock Zamanian and Levi Lentin came up clutch to shut it down. The two Gauchos combined to knock the ball down in front of goal, with Lentin sweeping it away from danger before it could cross the line. Lentin then had to clean up his own mess a bit, giving the ball away with a delay of game, only to make a huge one-on-one stop to keep the score tied.
 
Gyenis un-tied the score in the first overtime period with his fifth goal of the day, and the Gauchos led, 11-10 after the first three-minute overtime period. The Tritons scored first in the second half of overtime to equalize, but then McFarland scored his 82^nd goal of the year to put Santa Barbara back in front. It came down to one final possession, as the Tritons called timeout with 20 seconds left and sent everyone forward in search of an equalizer, but Sam McKenzie blocked the shot. With the ball in his hand and an empty net at the other end of the pool Gyenis launched a Hail Mary shot at the buzzer for his sixth goal of the day and the icing on the Gauchos' cake.
 
UP NEXT
With the win, No. 2 seed UC Santa Barbara advances to face No. 1 seed UC Irvine in The Big West Championship match on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. from Canyonview Aquatic Center in La Jolla. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here. For fans following from afar, the game will be live on ESPN+ with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.
 
UC Irvine reached the title match by way of an 11-10 win over No. 4 seed UC Davis on Saturday. The Anteaters defeated the Gauchos, 8-7, when the two teams met in Santa Barbara during the regular season.