San Diego, Calif. - The Concordia University Irvine men's water polo team opened the 2024 season at the annual Triton Invitational hosted by UC San Diego. The two-day tournament was filled to the brim with games for all 18 teams. Nearly half of the teams were nationally ranked including UCLA, UC Irvine, Stanford, and UC Santa Barbara. Concordia went 0-2 on the first day against No. 11 UC Santa Barbara and No. 1 UCLA. 

The Golden Eagles were outscored by the Gauchos, but junior Sam Diamond tallied three goals and three steals to lead the Green and the Gold's offense. Returners Carlos Olat, Harry Bentham, Oscar Garcia Blomback, and Stan De Mey followed suit by each scoring a goal for the Golden Eagles. Many new faces from Concordia joined the action. The freshmen duo Thomas Kelly and Lucas Rodriguez made their presence known by scoring their first collegiate goals in the game. Defensively, senior Griffin Beth started as goalie and tallied three saves total. UC Santa Barbara won the match 22-9. 

Despite a large point gap between UCLA and Concordia, Jacob Stuart, Carlos Olat, and Sam Diamond made it through the Bruin's defense and scored for the Golden Eagles. UCLA's offense was a constant and relentless force. Freshman Hale Durbiano stepped up as goalie and acquired four saves against the Bruins. With the help of his teammates, graduate student Konstantinos Koulouris scored his first CUI goal of the season before UCLA won the match 26-7. 

Th Green and the Gold closes out the Triton Invitational on Sunday, Sept. 8. The men's water polo team will take on Stanford at 9:15 a.m. and UC Irvine at 5:15 p.m. 

To see the FULL CUI men's water polo schedule, click HERE.