Skip To Main Content

California State University, Fullerton

Julian Nichols
16
Winner UC San Diego UCSD (18-8, 1-3 Big West)
11
Cal State Fullerton CSF (16-12, 0-4 Big West)
Winner
UC San Diego UCSD
(18-8, 1-3 Big West)
16
Final
11
Cal State Fullerton CSF
(16-12, 0-4 Big West)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UC San Diego UCSD 7 4 3 2 16
Cal State Fullerton CSF 2 3 2 4 11

Game Recap: Men's Water Polo |

Nichols Notches 20th Career Hat Trick in Battle Against No. 10 UCSD

Titans Men’s Water Polo fell to Big West opponent No. 10 UC San Diego after a second half fight in a 16-11 loss at home on Thursday evening.

FULLERTON, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton Men's Water Polo team hosted the No. 10 UC San Diego Tritons for the final Big West matchup of 2025 at Titan Aquatics Center on Thursday. Despite a strong second half effort, time slipped away from the Titans as they tried to figure out UCSD's strategic in the first half. 
 
UC San Diego started off with four consecutive goals, before Alec Isaacman found the back of the net with three minutes to go in the first quarter. Ethan MacLeod then added to Fullerton's name, making it a 7-2 game going into the second frame.
 
Fullerton posted three goals in the second quarter and held the Tritons to just four.  Andrew Barnuevo, Togan Ozbeck and Julian Nichols each found their way past the Tritons keeper, to keep the Titans within reach of the #10 Tritons.
 
MacLeod and Barnuevo posted back-to-back goals for their two-goal night, but UCSD continued to score, logging three more in the third. CSF trailed 14-7 going into the final quarter.
 
Francesco Schiaffino and Nichols tallied two goals each in the fourth quarter in an effort to make a comeback, but the nationally ranked Tritons stood their ground and ran away with a 16-11 win.
 
Julian Nichols recorded his 20th career hat-trick on Thursday night. Nichols also recorded a steal and drew two exclusions.
 
Barnuevo, MacLeod and Schiaffino each had a multi-goal game against the Tritons. MacLeod and Schiaffino also recorded an assist. Schiaffino and Bende Aubelli led the team with two steals each, while Ozbeck led Fullerton with three assists on the night.
 
The Titans are on the road this weekend as they face Pepperdine at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov 1 in Malibu, Calif.
 
SUPPORT THE TITANS!
Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitansTickets.com. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278-2783 or by email at athletictixs@fullerton.edu. The Ticket Office is located at the Titan House off of Gymnasium Drive at the eastern end of the Intramural Fields and is open from 10 am – 4 pm PT, Monday – Friday. 

FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), X (@FullertonTitans) Instagram (@FullertonTitans), YouTube (FullertonTitansAthletics) and TikTok (@FullertonTitans). In addition, the water polo teams have established their own Twitter (@Fullerton_WP) and Instagram accounts (@Fullerton_WP).

WATCH THE TITANS ON ESPN+
Titans fans can now watch every home event exclusively on ESPN+. Cal State Fullerton has built a top-tier production studio to give the viewers an ESPN quality production for all games at Titan Stadium. Additionally, all schools in the Big West Conference are committed to producing ESPN quality streams which will allow fans to watch the Titans on ESPN+ for all road conference games.
 
Print Friendly Version