2015 GCC Tournament Central
Stockton, Calif. - In the first of two Golden Coast Conference semifinals on Friday afternoon at Chris Kjeldsen Pool, the No. 15 ranked Pacific Women's Water Polo (15-10) dropped a 6-3 decision to the No. 17 ranked Loyola Marymount Lions (21-11), snapping a nine-game winning streak, the second longest streak in program history. The defeat also represents the Tigers' first loss at Chris Kjeldsen Pool this season.
Loyola Marymount opened the scoring with 5:37 left in the first quarter as MacKenzie Beck got one in net over the head of Michele Relton for a 1-0 Lions advantage. The Tigers equalized with 2:43 left int he first quarter as Brydie Pye bounced one over the LMU keeper Jordan White for her 22nd goal of the season, leading to a 1-1 scoreline.With under a minute left in the period, Beck added her second of the quarter, beating Relton past the left post as LMU took a 2-1 lead into the quarter break.
A minute into the second quarter, Beck completed a hat-trick as she powered home a centering pass to give the Lions the 3-1 lead. Bridgette Alvarez later gave the Lions a three-goal cushion as she bested Relton off an entry pass for a 4-1 lead. Less than a minute later, LMU pushed the advantage further to 5-1 as Ivana Castro converted from long range.
With just over a minute left in the half, Karolina Hlavata converted a 6-5 opportunity for her 24th goal of the season, cutting the LMU lead to 5-2 at the half.
LMU continued its hot start into the third quarter as Beck added her fourth of the game to open the second half scoring, restoring the four goal lead at 6-2. With 2:15 left in the final quarter of action, GCC co-Player of the Year Anna Kertes scored her 43rd of the season to cut the Lions lead to 6-3 but the strike proved to be too little, too late for the Tigers.
White and a stringent Lions defense held Pacific to just the one goal in the second half as White's 12 saves served as a major difference in the contest. The game was a defensive battle throughout as Relton also played valiantly in goal, stopping nine shots in her penultimate game as a Tiger.
Pacific will now play in Saturday's third place game at 1:00 pm against the loser of the second semi-final between the top overall seed San Diego State and the No. 5 seed California Baptist. Loyola Marymount advances to Saturday's Golden Coast Conference Championship Game at 2:30 pm versus the winner of Friday's second semifinal matchup.
