LA JOLLA, Calif. - The No. 9 UC San Diego women's water polo team split a pair of home games Saturday, coming from behind to defeat No. 9 Michigan after falling against No. 7 Harvard.
The Tritons are now 13-11 on the season after the pair of non-conference victories.
The score against Michigan was 13-12 for the Tritons, while the score of the Harvard game was 11-7 in favor of the Crimson.
HOW IT HAPPENED V MICHIGAN
At halftime, the Wolverines held an 8-6 advantage over the Tritons. UC San Diego came out of the break on fire, scoring five goals to Michigan's two. The final time the game was tied was at 2:59 of the third when Wolverine Ari Karampetsou knotted it at 9-9.
Abigail Schechter scored on a power play at 2:23 of the third to break the tie at 10-9. The Tritons were able to hold their lead the rest of the way.
Freshman Triton
Holly Roberts netted a career-high four goals. Two of Roberts' goals came back-to-back in the fourth quarter.
Senior captain
Kendall Thomas registered a hat trick. Freshman
Evelyn Burns notched two goals.
Making her collegiate debut, freshman goalkeeper
Makana Fake made four saves and added three steals in the victory. A crucial save late in the fourth quarter preserved the victory for the Tritons.
HOW IT HAPPENED V HARVARD
The game stayed tight in the first half. At 6-6 in the second quarter, Emma Gilbert scored with 42 seconds left in the period, giving the Crimson a 7-6 lead. That would prove to be the game-winning goal as Harvard stayed ahead the rest of the way.
UC San Diego got back within a single goal on two occasions.
Abigail Schechter's power play goal late in the third quarter brought the score to 9-8 Harvard. In addition, a
Caroline Christl power play goal with 5:10 remaining in the fourth stanza made it 11-10 Crimson.
In the final 2:01, Harvard scored two empty net goals. At 1:06,
Courtney Okumura tacked on one more goal for the Tritons, but it wasn't enough.
Thomas notched her first of two hat tricks on the day in the early game.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego is off from competition for the next two weeks for finals and spring break. After that, it's four straight Big West games for the Tritons, starting on March 29 at Long Beach State. Their next home game is April 10 against Hawai'i.
Tickets for home events are available through the
Triton Box Office.
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.
