Saturday, November 14
San Diego, CA
12:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
7
at
12
UC San Diego
Photo by: Tod Fierner
11/14/2026 1:59:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - No. 20 Saint Mary's men's water polo fell to the No. 10 UC San Diego Tritons Saturday afternoon to finish off its inaugural regular season. Noah Bigara drew three exclusions for the fifth consecutive match, while Harry Irwin led the Gaels with two goals in a hard-fought contest that closed out a memorable regular season for the program. The Gaels will now shift their focus to the WCC Tournament, starting next week in Santa Clara.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons came out strong with a quick 3-0 run in the first quarter before freshman Harry Irwin picked up his first goal of the match to get the scoring started for Saint Mary's. A great pass from Kyle Stilinovich found Noah Bigara, who found the back of the cage to bring the Gaels within one.Â
Italian international Domenico Barillà was next on the scoresheet, picking up his first of the match before finding Ethan Klerck for his team-high 34th assist of the season to level the match. Jacob Carlson then capitalized on a power-play to give the Gaels their first lead of the match, to which the Tritons responded with another 3-0 run to take a 7-5 lead into the half.
The Gaels would continue to battle, with freshman goalkeeper Federico Castrucci recording six saves in the match for the tenth time this season to keep the Gaels in the match. Hamish Ellison would score his first of the match to open up the third quarter, while Ellison picked up his West Coast Conference leading 31st sprint win of the season in the match. The Tritons would then score four straight before Harry Irwin secured his eighth brace of the season, as the Gaels would battle until the final whistle, ultimately falling 12-7 to close out their inaugural regular season.
GAME NOTES
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's men's water polo returns to action this coming Friday, November 20th at 3:45 p.m., as the seven-seed Gaels take on the two-seed LMU Lions in their first-ever West Coast Conference tournament match. The match can be streamed live on ESPN+, with additional match information available at smcgaels.com.Â
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons came out strong with a quick 3-0 run in the first quarter before freshman Harry Irwin picked up his first goal of the match to get the scoring started for Saint Mary's. A great pass from Kyle Stilinovich found Noah Bigara, who found the back of the cage to bring the Gaels within one.Â
Italian international Domenico Barillà was next on the scoresheet, picking up his first of the match before finding Ethan Klerck for his team-high 34th assist of the season to level the match. Jacob Carlson then capitalized on a power-play to give the Gaels their first lead of the match, to which the Tritons responded with another 3-0 run to take a 7-5 lead into the half.
The Gaels would continue to battle, with freshman goalkeeper Federico Castrucci recording six saves in the match for the tenth time this season to keep the Gaels in the match. Hamish Ellison would score his first of the match to open up the third quarter, while Ellison picked up his West Coast Conference leading 31st sprint win of the season in the match. The Tritons would then score four straight before Harry Irwin secured his eighth brace of the season, as the Gaels would battle until the final whistle, ultimately falling 12-7 to close out their inaugural regular season.
GAME NOTES
- Freshman Harry Irwin led the Gaels with two goals in the match, while six different Gaels found the back of the cage in the contest.
- Noah Bigara drew three exclusions in the match for the 16th time this season, bringing his season total to a team-high 78 drawn exclusions.
- Goalkeeper Federico Castrucci picked up six saves in the match, bringing his season total to 128, now seventh highest in the WCC.
- Castrucci also picked up two steals in the match, bringing his season total to a team-high 42 steals, now second highest in the WCC.
- Freshman Hamish Ellison picked up his conference-leading 31st sprint win of the season in the match.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's men's water polo returns to action this coming Friday, November 20th at 3:45 p.m., as the seven-seed Gaels take on the two-seed LMU Lions in their first-ever West Coast Conference tournament match. The match can be streamed live on ESPN+, with additional match information available at smcgaels.com.Â
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Players Mentioned
UTL
/ Men's Water PoloUTL
/ Men's Water PoloGK
/ Men's Water PoloATT
/ Men's Water PoloATT
/ Men's Water PoloATT
/ Men's Water PoloATT
/ Men's Water PoloSaturday, November 14
Sunday, November 08
Friday, November 06
Sunday, November 01
