Women's Water Polo 3/1/2015 2:13:00 PM UCSD

No. 19 UCSD Splits Day in Santa Barbara With Win Over CSU Bakersfield

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The No. 19 UC San Diego women's water polo team bounced back with an impressive win against CSU Bakersfield after starting the day with a tough loss against No. 17 UC Santa Barbara.

Despite holding the Gauchos to just five goals, which tied a season-low goals against, UCSD dropped a 5-4 decision against UCSB Sunday. The Tritons then recovered quickly to take an 11-10 win against Bakersfield at UCSB Campus Pool.

"The defensive battle against UC Santa Barbara this morning really tired us out," head coach Brad Kreutzkamp said. "With a two-hout turnaround, I was proud of the way we came out and were able to score 11 goals against Bakersfield, a team that beat us by five earlier in the year."

Game One
UCSD fell behind early in the first game as UCSB opened with back-to-back scores. Junior Laurel Kistler cut the Tritons deficit to one after scoring on a penalty shot.

UCSD was strong on defense in the second period as Courtney Miller held the Gauchos scoreless. Miller finished the game with 11 stops. With 33 seconds left in the half, senior Jolene Guiliana tied up the match at 2-2 with her first goal of the game.

After the Gauchos began the second half with a score, Lauren Boyer found the back of the cage on a six-on-five situation. But UCSB scored once more before the third quarter was over to take a 4-3 lead.

Guiliana opened up the final frame with a goal to tie the match again at four apiece. Unfortunately, the Gauchos scored 1:39 left in the game to give them the 5-4 win.

The Tritons were led by Guiliana who scored two of UCSD's four goals. Guiliana also added one assist and two steals in the loss.

Game Two
After suffering a devastating 11-6 loss to CSU Bakersfield on Jan. 24, UCSD was looking forward to Sunday's rematch.

In an explosive first frame, the Tritons found themselves with a 3-1 advantage after 2:16 of play. The Roadrunners scored the next three goals to pull ahead, but Emma Sasson found the back of the cage to end the first quarter tied at 4-4.

Behind scores from Julia Kirkland and Guiliana in the second period, UCSD took a 6-5 lead into the half. But Bakersfield opened the secold half strong as it regained the lead before ending the third quarter tied at 8-8.

Guiliana and Lani Tittle each recorded a goal in the fourth to put the Tritons back on top, and Kirkland scored what would be the game winning goal with 4:00 left in the game.

Up next for the Tritons is the Claremont Convergence on Friday and Saturday. UCSD will face Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer on Friday at 2 p.m. and 7:20 p.m., respectively. The Tritons will then play Chapman at 11:40 a.m. on Saturday and finish the weekend against La Verne at 3:40 p.m.

Game One Box Score
UCSD 1 1 1 1 - 4
UCSB 2 0 2 1 - 5
Goals
UCSD: Jolene Guiliana 2, Lauren Boyer 1, Laurel Kistler 1
UCSB: Brenna Thomas 1, Taylor Shore 1, Bryn Hudson 1, Sophie Trabucco, Samantha Murphy
Saves
UCSD: Courtney Miller 11

Game Two Box Score
UCSD 4 2 2 3 - 11
CSUB 4 1 3 2 - 10
Goals
UCSD: Julia Kirkland 4, Jolene Guiliana 2, Lauren Boyer 2, Emma Sasson 1, Lani Tittle 1, Lauren Finwall 1
CSUB: Ashley Paz 3, Nicola Barrett 2, Janelle Shelby 1, Katie Bensen 1, Bridgette Souza 1, Niki De Leon 1, Kristen Jensen 1
Saves
UCSD: Courtney Miller 10