SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The No. 22 Pacific women's water polo pulled away late for a 17-13 win over Cal State Monterey Bay after dropping an 11-10 nail-biter to No. 25 CSU Northridge on Saturday at the Bronco Invitational, hosted by Santa Clara at the Sullivan Aquatic Center.
Junior
Laia Marsinach Ortega netted six goals on the day to lead Pacific (4-5), including four in the victory over Cal State Monterey Bay (5-7). Freshman
Eleni Ikonomou registered five goals including a hat trick against Cal State Northridge (9-3).
Sophomore
Lauryn Lucero and freshman
Sophie Pethers both notched a hat trick in the win over the Otters.
In the first game of the day, the teams were tied 4-4 at the end of the first quarter when junior
Alicia Petkov and Ortega scored to give the Tigers a 6-4 edge midway through the second. Though, the Matadors answered with two goals to even it 6-6 at the half.
CSU Northridge went up 8-6 early in the third, but Pacific tied it 8-8 on goals by Ortega and
Eleni Ikonomou. The Matadors responded with two goals and were ahead 10-9 after a goal by junior
Millie Jacobson at the end of the third.
The Tigers trailed just 11-10 midway through the fourth after a score by Pethers. Though, the Tigers couldn't find the equalizer in the final four minutes as both defenses stood tall the rest of the way.
In game two, the game was very tight early again as a goal by freshman
Maria Ikonomou knotted it up 7-7 just before the intermission.
The Tigers created slight separation 12-9 after a score by junior
Lily Van Putten with 1:48 left in the third. After the Otters trimmed it to 21-11, goals by Pethers and Ortega upped it to 14-11 with 4:33 to go in the fourth.
Pacific pulled away late in the fourth as two goals by Ortega and one by junior
Anna Crum put it out of reach at 17-12 at the 1:38 mark.
The Tigers improved to 14-5 all-time against CSU Monterey Bay and has won seven consecutive meetings dating back to 2011.
Pacific used two goalkeepers – junior Maia Lizy Dulic and sophomore
Laurel Cooper – in both games. Cooper saw the majority of the minutes and made 14 saves and six steals over the two matches.
The Tigers will conclude the Bronco Invitational with a 12:30 p.m. game Sunday against Pomona-Pitzer. Pacific's next home game is Saturday, March 7 at 5 p.m. against UC Davis.
Tigers Tickets
Tickets for upcoming events can be purchased through the
PacificTigers.com tickets tab, or by calling the Box Office at
209-946-2474. Groups of 10 or more are eligible for a group discount and exclusive fan experiences.
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@UOPWaterPoloU), Instagram (
@pacificwaterpolo) and "like" the team's official Facebook page (
Pacific Women's Water Polo).
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