MWP | Saint Mary’s Tested by No. 1 UCLA and No. 7 Long Beach State in Day 2 of Triton Invitational

Saturday, August 29

San Diego, CA

9:20 AM

Saint Mary's College of California

UCLA

MWP | Saint Mary’s Tested by No. 1 UCLA and No. 7 Long Beach State in Day 2 of Triton Invitational

8/29/2026 5:09:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The Saint Mary's men's water polo team continued its inaugural weekend of competition at the Triton Invitational with another pair of nationally ranked matchups. The Gaels opened the day against defending national champion and No. 1 UCLA, falling 23-5, before putting together a competitive showing against No. 7 Long Beach State in a 15-10 loss.

HOW IT HAPPENED VS. NO. 1 UCLA

Saint Mary's faced a tough challenge in just its third game as a program. The Gaels went up against the top-ranked team in the nation and defending national champion UCLA. In the first quarter of action, the Bruins tallied six goals to jump out to an early lead. Freshman attacker Domenico Barillà put the Gaels on the board just before the end of the first quarter. The Gaels were able to capitalize twice in the second quarter, with goals coming from Leo Hachem and Ferran de Witt, but UCLA maintained control and took a 13-3 lead into halftime.

The Gaels added two more goals in the second half, with graduate veteran Mason Black finding the back of the net alongside Hachem, who recorded his second of the game. Federico Castrucci finished the game with four saves, but UCLA ultimately took the 23-5 win.

HOW IT HAPPENED VS. NO. 7 LBSU

Saint Mary's closed out day two of the Triton Invitational against No. 7 Long Beach State. The Beach jumped out to an early advantage and took a 5-2 lead after the opening quarter. Griffin Lagsdin made his first start in the cage for the Gaels and made multiple saves throughout the opening period. Harry Irwin delivered first for Saint Mary's after Nicholas Valente found him on the post during a power play. The Gaels added another three goals during the second quarter, but Long Beach continued to hold the advantage with a 10-5 lead going into the break.

Saint Mary's found its rhythm on both ends in the second half, scoring five more goals while limiting the Beach to just five over the final 16 minutes. The Gaels chipped away at the Beach's lead, bringing the deficit to as little as five, but were unable to close the gap any further as Long Beach State took the 15-10 win. Black, Hachem, and Irwin led the Gaels offensively with two goals apiece.

GAME NOTES

Saint Mary's faced its third and fourth nationally ranked opponents in as many games to begin program history, taking on No. 1 UCLA and No. 7 Long Beach State.
Hachem led the Gaels with four goals on Saturday and scored twice in each game. He now leads Saint Mary's with eight goals through the first four games of the season.
Black recorded his first goal as a Gael against No. 1 UCLA before adding two more against Long Beach State to finish the day with three.
Lagsdin made his first start in the cage for the Gaels against No. 7 Long Beach State.
Eight different Gaels scored on Saturday to combine for 15 goals across the two matchups.
Through the first four games in program history, 11 different Gaels have found the back of the cage.

LOOKING AHEAD

Saint Mary's will close out the Triton Invitational on Sunday, August 30 first against Bucknell with game time scheduled for 9:20 a.m. The Gaels will then wrap up the weekend as they face Mercyhurst at 12:00 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on Overnght and more information can be found at smcgaels.com.

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