LA JOLLA, Calif. - The UC San Diego women's water polo team lost an overtime battle with Long Beach State Sunday morning, 9-7, during day two of the Triton Invitational.
The seesaw affair featured three pivotal lead changes, the final one coming after UCSD held a fourth-quarter advantage of 6-5 that disappeared when LBSU tallied a score with 2:49 remaining in regulation. To start overtime, the 49ers rattled off three straight goals to put the match out of reach for the Tritons.
In the first quarter, UCSD jumped out to a 3-1 lead with goals from seniors Stephanie Bocian and Stephanie Heinrich and junior Felicia Orozco.
During the next period, LBSU rallied for four answered scores to take a 5-3 advantage into the game's midway point. The 49ers' run featured goals from four different players - Meaghan Leonard, Lauren Sieprath, Katie Rogers and Chelsea Grabowski.
The momentum shifted once again to begin the third quarter, as the Tritons received scores from Heinrich and Hanalei Crowell to even the match at 5-5.
After receiving a pass from sophomore Jessica Tran on the break, Heinrich recorded her third goal of the game with 6:21 remaining in regulation to give UCSD a 6-5 lead.
Roughly four minutes later, the 49ers' Krizia Cerda fired a shot past Tritons' goalkeeper Markayla Quane from the top of the formation to tie the game at 6-6. At 2:29, a five-meter attempt from Tran was stopped by LBSU netminder Lauren Randazzo.
The game moved to overtime and the 49ers' offense continued to push. Cerda tallied two scores and Leonard followed with her second of the game to give LBSU a commanding 9-6 lead. Tran tossed in a late goal but it proved to be too little and too late as the final result stayed at 9-7.
The UCSD squad will return to action at 4 p.m. for their final game of the Triton Invitational. The Tritons will play against the loser of Sunday's matchup between Maryland and Pomona Pitzer.
