LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The UC San Diego women's water polo finished its regular season Thursday with a 6-4 win at home against Cal Baptist on Senior Night.
Goalkeeper Kim Hockett put together another solid performance in net, with her five saves raising her 2008 total to 277 and giving her UCSD's all-time single season saves record.
The Tritons, ranked 16th nationally, improved their record to 17-16 as CBU fell to 22-12. The Western Water Polo Association will announce seeding on Monday in preparation for the championship tournament to be held on the Loyola Marymount campus from April 25-27.
“We're all super excited about next weekend,” senior Nicole Hermann said. “We're playing well right now and our goal is to come out on top in our conference.”
Before Thursday's contest, the UCSD squad honored the athletic and academic careers of Brittany Stone, Elizabeth Hahn, Judy Emaus, Hockett and Hermann.
“It was a really special night,” Hermann said. “Being the last night, it was just great to be together with all the seniors out there in the water.”
Early in the first quarter, after CBU attacker Corrie Stuursma was ejected, Hermann put the Tritons on the board with a successful shot from the left side.
Over the middle part of the period, the Lancers held tough on defense as CBU goalkeeper Julie Abendschein tipped out some close UCSD chances.
At the 3:41 mark though, sophomore Stephanie Bocian struck for a score from the right side as she placed a hard shot into the top right corner of the net. The Tritons held off a few CBU scoring opportunities late in the quarter, including a shot hitting the crossbar at the 3:20 mark and a CBU penalty shot from five meters out landing wide left with just 25 seconds left in the period.
Holding a 2-0 lead heading into the second quarter, UCSD head coach Larry Sanders sent his five seniors into the pool along with junior Sydney Gstettenbauer and Bocian. The Triton attack continued to roll as Gstettenbauer took advantage of a six on five opportunity and tossed in a score from the left side of the offensive formation at the 4:26 mark. Less than a minute later, Bocian managed to breakaway from the CBU defense but the three Lancers trailing just behind her put on enough pressure to stop the chance.
With 2:44 remaining in the period, Emaus converted on a breakway of her own after receiving an outlet pass from Bocian and gave UCSD a 4-0 going into halftime.
Hermann added her second score of the game out of the break. Less than 30 seconds later, the CBU squad got on the board when Ashleigh Wheeler moved past the last line of Triton defense and pushed a shot over Hockett.
After the third quarter ended with UCSD ahead 5-1, Sanders replaced Hockett with backup goalkeeper Markayla Quane. The Lancers tested Quane early in the fourth with some close chances but couldn't break through for a score. Gstettenbauer added her second goal of the game at the 4:46 mark, assisted by a cross-pool pass from Emaus.
Despite missing another five-meter penalty chance, CBU managed a late flurry of goals. In the final two minutes the Lancers tacked on three unanswered scores but it proved to be too little and too late. The first goals came from Gentry at close range on the right side. With about 35 seconds remaining, Gentry stole the ball and launched a long pass to teammate Collette Brown, who managed to convert on the breakaway. Brown's goal cut UCSD's lead to 6-4 but that's where the score ended.
While the Tritons await the WWPA's seeding announcement and next week's trip to Los Angeles, the Lancers will host the NAIA Women's Water Polo Invitational Friday and Saturday.
