LOS ANGELES, Calif. ? Senior goalkeeper Kim Hockett made 11 saves to lead the UC San Diego women's water polo team to an 8-6 victory over Sonoma State Friday in a quarterfinal match at the Western Water Polo Association Championships.
“For us, winning this championship will come down to defense,” UCSD head coach Larry Sanders said. “[Hockett] is the catalyst for that. She makes our team go, she keeps us in ballgames and she wins us ballgames.”
Semifinal action resumes Saturday at the Burns Recreation and Aquatics Center on the Loyola Marymount campus. The third-seeded Tritons (18-16) will play LMU, seeded second. In the latest national collegiate top 20 poll, UCSD was ranked 16th while the Lions (19-10) held the No. 12 position.
The two squads have split their season series with the Tritons dropping a 12-11 overtime thriller at home on Feb. 9 before pulling off an upset over LMU on the road, 9-7, two weeks ago.
SSU, after topping Cal State East Bay 8-5 in a first round match Friday morning, jumped out to an early 1-0 lead against UCSD in the afternoon contest. Junior Sydney Gstettenbauer tossed in a goal with 1:37 remaining in the first quarter to tie the score.
Gstettenbauer's goal was the first of four unanswered scores by the Tritons as they rallied to a 4-1 lead late in the second period. The Seawolves scored late in the quarter and opened the second half with a goal, trimming UCSD's advantage to 4-3.
Senior Judy Emaus tallied two scores for the Tritons in the third quarter, helping the team to a 7-4 lead with eight minutes remaining. After the teams traded scores earlier in the final period, UCSD continued to hold a three-goal lead for the majority of the fourth quarter. SSU tossed in a goal with 11 ticks left on the clock, bringing the final score to 8-6.
Gstettenbauer ended up with four goals, bringing her season total to 79. Laurel Stricklin and Emily Pearce each had two scores for SSU while the team's goalkeeper, Lysa Lombard, made six stops.
Following the match between the Tritons and Seawolves, LMU topped Cal State San Bernardino by a score of 14-3 to reach the next round. The second semifinal contest, set for 4 p.m. Saturday, will be between No. 17 Santa Clara and No. 9 UC Davis.
