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UC Davis

Next Match:

UC Davis

10/25/2025 | 12 PM


Oct. 25 (Sat) / 12 PM


 UC Davis

History

LA JOLLA, Calif. — Bennett Axline dropped a hat trick to lead the seventh-ranked UC San Diego men’s water polo team to an exciting 10-9 win against No. 13/15 Princeton Saturday night at Canyonview Aquatic Center.

The Tritons improved to 17-7 on the season while the Tigers dropped to 16-8.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Axline opened the game with back-to-back goals early in the opening quarter and the Tritons never relinquished their lead. The first strike came 46 seconds in and the second was netted 45 seconds later.

The Tritons’ largest lead in the game was three at 5-2 and 6-3 in the second quarter and 9-6 early in the fourth stanza.

Trailing by three in the fourth, the Tigers reeled off two straight goals in a two-minute span to stay in it at 9-8 with four minutes to play. Axline scored his third of the night with 54 ticks left in the quarter to give UC San Diego an all-important 10-8 lead. With 27 seconds remaining, Gavin Appeldorn got Princeton back within a single goal at 10-9, but that would prove to be the final goal scored in the game.

Eamon Hennessey scored twice and added an assist in the game for UC San Diego, while five other Tritons recorded single goals. Axline and Hennessey were two of five UC San Diego players to record three points as they joined Jackson Boettner (one goal, two assists), Felipe Ferreira (one goal, two assists) and Mark Laurlund (three assists).

Axline also had three drawn exclusions and a pair of steals.

For Princeton, Taylor Bell and Otto Stothart had three goals apiece. Bell assisted on two goals to finish with five points.

TRITON TIDBITS
• Axline has a hat trick in two of his last three outings. Tonight was his 10th multiple goal game of the season.
• The two teams met back in September at the MPSF Invitational with Princeton taking a 14-13 win in overtime. 
• Princeton defeated Long Beach State Thursday in LA County while UC San Diego fell to The Beach in La Jolla Friday. 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego hosts Big West opponent UC Davis on Saturday, October 25 at noon. Game tickets are available for purchase online by visiting the link HERE or by calling (858) 534-1430. For more ticket information, e-mail the box office at triton-tix@ucsd.edu.

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world’s preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.