LA JOLLA, Calif. -Â Playing its first game in two weeks, the No. 10 UC San Diego women's water polo team was defeated 13-11 at No. 6 Long Beach State Saturday.
Following the loss, the Tritons fell to 13-12 overall and 2-2 in the Big West. The Beach improved to 13-9 and 4-1.
It was the first action for UC San Diego since March 15 when it defeated Michigan in La Jolla. Following that came final exams and spring break.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Long Beach State scored the first three goals of the game and stayed in front the rest of the way.
Trailing 3-1 in the first quarter,
Kendall Thomas scored at the 4:27 mark to bring the Tritons within a goal, but that would prove to be the lone time that UC San Diego would get that close for the remainder of the afternoon.
Long Beach State led 9-6 heading in to the second half. There were just two total goals scored in the third, one by each squad, and the Beach was in front 10-7 after three periods of play.
At 5:12 of the fourth, a
Courtney Okumura goal got UC San Diego back within two at 10-8. Long Beach State proceeded to score consecutive goals, extending its lead to 12-8. Again UC San Diego answered. With 2:41 remaining, Okumura scored another goal and
Caroline Christl converted a five-meter penalty shot at 1:59, once again moving the Tritons to within two goals again, 12-10.
Daniela Quinzada Gonzalez scored at 1:36 lifting Long Beach State to a 13-10 lead. With 45 seconds remaining, Christl made good on another five-meter penalty shot, but that would be the final goal of the day.
Overall, Christl finished with three goals and an assist. Okumura and Thomas had two goals apiece while
Evelyn Burns,
Lucia Doak, Sydnety Munatones, and
Holly Roberts each recorded a goal.
Triton goaltender
Lexi Stahl had 10 saves and assisted on a goal.
For the Beach, Jermonie Billingsly found the back of the net four times. Chelsea Oliver made 13 stops in net and added five steals to her stat line.
UC San Diego went one-for-seven on the powerplay while Long Beach State converted five of its nine opportunities. Both teams got off 33 shots in the game.
TRITON TIDBITS
•
Caroline Christl ran her goal-scoring streak to 19 games today.
• Christl has scored multiple goals in 17 of her 25 games played.
• It was the third double-digit save total for
Lexi Stahl this season.
• Freshman
Evelyn Burns has tallied three goals over her last two games.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego continues Big West action at CSUN on April 5. The Tritons then host Hawai'i on April 10 at 6 p.m. Tickets 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.
