Stockton, Calif. - The No. 20 Pacific women's water polo shut out No. 11 UC San Diego in the second half, and scored five unanswered goals for an 8-5 win Sunday at Chris Kjeldsen Pool. Michele Relton posted 15 saves in goal, including nine in the second half.
Gracie Smith and Anna Kertes each scored twice while Taylor Adair, Aelish Guinn, Karolina Hlavata and Megan Torre each tallied once. The Tigers trailed 5-3 at halftime, but reeled off five goals in a row, including a 4-0 third quarter.
The Tigers improve to 2-3 on the year, posting their first win over a ranked team. Four of the Tigers first five opponents were ranked in the top 11 of the polls. The Tigers are undefeated against teams not in the top 10.
UC San Diego falls to 6-7 on the year. Tritons goalkeeper Courtney Miller posted 17 saves in the cage.
Lani Tittle opened the scoring with a 6-on-5 goal for the Tritons, but Pacific answered back on a goal from Anna Kertes at the 3:56 mark. Taylor Adair gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead with 51 seconds to go in the quarter, sneaking a shot into the bottom left corner.
Laurel Kistler scored on the lob shot for a 2-2 tie with 37 seconds left in the first before Kertes had two shots on the Tigers' final possession: one was saved by Miller and the other hit the post as the quarter wrapped up 2-2.
In the second, UC San Diego earned a 6-on-4 opportunity and Jolene Guiliana gave the Tritons a 3-2 lead before the second exclusion expired. Gracie Smith answered by beating the keeper to knot the game at 3-3 with 5:29 to go before the half.
Lauren Boyer tallied for the Tritons to the bottom right corner for the lead, 4-3. The Tigers drew an exclusion and set up on offense, but hit the post again. The excluded player entered early and on the ensuing five-meter penalty shot, the Tigers hit the cross bar yet again. Tittle beat the shot clock for a 5-3 UCSD lead with 1:51 to go in the quarter.
Pacific shots hit the post or crossbar seven times in the first half. But the game turned in the third. The goalkeepers turned away shots in the third quarter for over five minutes until Karolina Hlavata cut the Tigers' deficit to 5-4 with 2:44 to go. Kertes scored off the long outlet pass from Relton to tie the game, finishing high with the nut goal in transition.
Megan Torre finished on the backdoor off the pass from Brydie Pye to give Pacific a 6-5 lead with 1:29 to go in the third. Aelish Guinn lobbed home the Tigers' fourth-straight goal of the third quarter with nine seconds left on the clodk.
In the fourth, Smith accepted a pass inside and powered the cross-cage shot into the bottom left for a fifth-straight Pacific goal and an 8-5 lead. The Tigers defense clamped down, as Relton made three more saves and the Tigers spread the pool to run the clock down for the victory.
Pacific is back in action on next weekend at the UC Irvine Invitational. The Tigers will face No. 1 Stanford in the opener at 8:00 a.m. Saturday, and then face either No. 8 San Jose State or No. 9 Cal State Northridge. Both matches will be at UC Irvine's Anteater Aquatics Complex.
