Stockton, Calif. - The No. 14 Pacific women's water polo team won its' eighth-straight game, posting a 9-6 win over No. 17 Loyola Marymount Saturday at Chris Kjeldsen Pool. The Tigers wrap the regular season at 14-9 and earn the two-seed in the Golden Coast Conference Championship.
Taylor Adair, Anna Kertes, Brydie Pye and Gracie Smith each scored twice, while Karolina Hlavata added a goal as well.
Tied at 5-5 midway through the third quarter, the Tigers scored four straight goals before LMU added one with 27 seconds left to settle on the final margin.
Pacific's eight-game win streak is the second-longest in program history, trailing only a 13-game win streak in 2010.
Michele Relton made five saves in goal for Pacific, which finish second in the GCC at 5-1 in conference play.
LMU (19-11 overall) falls to 4-2 in GCC action and will be the three-seed in the conference tournament. Jordan White made four saves in goal for the Lions.
Pacific opened the scoring on a goal from Kertes in the middle, finishing cross cage for a 1-0 lead. After a defensive stop, Smith slipped it in the near side on the next Tigers possession. LMU got on the board on a goal from Mackenzie Beck, and evened the score on a goal from Erin Byrne. Kertes found Hlavata on the doorstep, and her cross-cage shot put Pacific back in front, 3-2.
Pye coasted in and finished cross-cage for a 4-2 lead on the Tigers' first possession of the second quarter. Down 6-on-5 following an exclusion, Relton made a big save, but the rebound came right to Laura Lopez at the post and she buried a shot into the opposite side panel to pull within 4-3.
Ivana Castro tied the game at 4-4 with a lob shot over the keeper with 4:47 to go in the first half. Relton blocked a five-meter penalty with 2:59 left to go in the second as the game remained tied at the half, 4-4.
In the third quarter, Adair's quick release beat the keeper from five meters out on the far side for a 5-4 lead. But on the next possession, LMU answered with Castro finding the back of the net.
Kertes hit the upper left corner of the net for a 6-4 lead with 3:34 to go in the third, and Adair finished a 6-on-5 with a cross-cage goal.
Pye buried a shot from the middle to the upper left on a skip shot for an 8-5 lead with 6:36 to go in the fourth. Smith accepted a feed from Kertes and spun sweep shot under the keeper's arm for a 9-5 lead with 4:04 to go, putting the Tigers in the drivers seat.
The Tigers held LMU at bay until Castro added a goal with 27 seconds left, but the Tigers ran the clock down to wrap the regular season.
Pacific will serve as the host of the Golden Coast Conference Championship, which opens Thursday. LMU will face the six seed in the first game, starting at noon, while Pacific will face the seven seed in the second game of the day, sprinting at approximately 1:30 p.m. Saturday's late action will determine the bottom seeds.
