LA JOLLA, Calif. — The No. 19 UC Santa Barbara Women's Water Polo team (16-11, 2-4 Big West) heads south for their final game of the 2025 regular season, taking on No. 13 UC San Diego (14-13, 3-3 Big West) Friday night. With a win in La Jolla and help elsewhere, the Gauchos could finish as high as fourth in The Big West standings. Specifically, Santa Barbara will be hoping that Cal State Fullerton can upset UC Davis on Friday as well; if both the Gauchos and Titans win, then Santa Barbara would be in line for the No. 4 seed in The Big West Championship. If either one of Friday's games goes the wrong way though, the Gauchos will have to settle for sixth.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Santa Barbara is in the right run of form to uphold their end of the bargain in La Jolla, riding a three-game winning streak for the third time this season after a classic victory over CSUN on Senior Day last Saturday. Ava Donleavy was a save machine in goal, racking up a career-best 17 stops in the overtime victory. She now has 191 on the season and is the only goalie in The Big West to rank inside the top two for saves, save percentage (.482) and goals-against average (9.41). In front of Donleavy, all six of the Gauchos' outfield seniors scored on their Senior Day, with Christina Mullane posting one of the best games of her career, tallying three goals and three assists. Imani Clemons was dominant in the center against CSUN as well, scoring four times. Juju Amaral kept right on playmaking for Santa Barbara, tallying three more assists to bring her season total up to 49, good for second in the conference. Annie Kuester's two Senior Day goals bring her up to a team-high 55 on the season, ranking ninth in The Big West. The Gauchos were able to turn each of their last two three-game win streaks into four-game streaks; they will look to repeat the trick a third time on Friday.
 
SCOUTING THE TRITONS
To do so, they will have to either shut down the Caroline Christl-led UC San Diego offense or out-pace them. The Tritons have the third-highest scoring attack in Big West games this season, averaging 12.8 goals per conference game so far. Christl is The Big West's second-leading goal scorer, with 76 on the season, and her teammate Kendall Thomas has 50 goals herself. Christl scored a hat-trick in the Tritons' last game against Hawai'i, though Thomas was held scoreless. Abigail Schechter stepped up to fill the void, scoring twice.
 
The Gaucho defense clearly has their work cut out for them, but if Santa Barbara can keep UC San Diego in the single digits, they have a great shot at victory. The Tritons have been held under 10 goals eight times this season and have lost all eight games. When the Gauchos score 10 or more, they are 14-3 on the season. And while the Triton offense has been strong, their defense has been permeable. UC San Diego has only held opponents under 10 four times this season, with goalie Lexi Stahl ranking ninth among Big West netminders for both save percentage (.343) and goals-against average (12.20) on the year.
 
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH
The Gauchos and Tritons will hit the water at 6 p.m. from Canyonview Aquatic Center in La Jolla on Friday. Fans can also catch all the action from anywhere by watching live on ESPN+ or with live stats at ucsbgauchos.com/WWPLiveStats.