LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The No. 16 UC San Diego women's water polo team came close to overcoming a three-goal deficit midway through the fourth quarter and toppling No. 12 Loyola Marymount but ultimately fell 4-3 to the Lions in semifinal action at the Western Water Polo Association Championships Saturday.
“We played hard and it was a great game,” UCSD head coach Larry Sanders said. “Defensively we can play with anyone in the country. Offensively we have to do something to get better opportunities and that was the difference in the game today.”
LMU improves to 20-10 with the victory and advances into the tournament's championship game against UC Davis. The Tritons, now 18-17 in 2008, will play No. 17 Santa Clara on Sunday for third place at 2:30 p.m. at the Burns Recreation and Aquatics Center on the LMU campus. UCSD suffered a 5-4 loss at the LMU Tournament on March 8 against the SCU Broncos.
On Saturday the Lions got on the scoreboard first, with Sheena Carter firing a shot past UCSD goalkeeper Kim Hockett roughly two minutes into regulation. Both defenses held tough through the rest of the quarter and LMU carried the 1-0 lead into the next period.
The Tritons tied the score at 1-1 when Elizabeth Hahn tossed in her 12th goal of the season at the 5:35 mark in the second quarter. LMU junior Nicole Hughes, the program's all-time single season goal leader with 85 scores in 2008, tacked on another with 2:37 remaining before halftime.
The Lions held the 2-1 advantage into the intermission and through the entire third quarter as a defensive struggle ensued. Early in the final period, Hughes and Carter each added their second scores of the contest and helped LMU build up a 4-1 margin.
With roughly six and a half minutes left in regulation, junior Sydney Gstettenbauer and the rest of the UCSD offense rose to the occasion. Gstettenbauer tallied a score at 5:55 on a six-on-five opportunity and then another at the 3:32 mark off a penalty shot, cutting the host's lead to 4-3. The Lions held on for the victory though, clinching a spot in the tournament championship for the eighth consecutive season.
Gstettenbauer's 81 scores so far in 2008 ranks second among UCSD's all-time single season records. The impressive defense in Saturday's game featured Hockett making five saves and LMU goalie Eliana Arellano tallying six stops.
