FRESNO, Calif. – A hotly contested women's water polo match saw the 21st-ranked and fifth-seeded Pacific Tigers gut-out a 14-13 victory over the 20th-ranked and fourth-seeded Cal Baptist Lancers in the quarterfinals of the Golden Coast Conference Tournament on Friday at the Fresno State Aquatics Center.
 
Pacific (11-9) and CBU (13-11) traded goals through the midway point of the third quarter when junior Laia Marsinach Ortega scored twice to put the Tigers up 12-10 heading to the fourth. The Tigers extended it to 14-11 with 3:36 left on a goal by junior Ella Cowan.
 
Though, the Lancers did not go away and struck twice to cut it to 14-13 at the 1:07 mark. After a defensive stop, CBU got the ball back and had a chance to net the equalizer in the closing moments, but junior goalkeeper Maja Lizy Dulic made a big save to keep the Tigers ahead as they ran out the last few seconds.
 
Ortega, an All-Conference Second-Team selection, matched her career-high with six goals. It came on nine shot attempts and she also tallied two steals and an assist.
 
Six different Tigers scored in the contest. Cowan, an All-Conference Honorable Mention, junior Alicia Petkov and freshman Sophie Pethers registered two goals apiece.
 
Freshman Eleni Ikonomou, an All-Conference Honorable Mention and GCC All-Freshmen Team selection, and junior Lily Van Putten each found the back of the net once. Sophomore Lauryn Lucero dished out a pair of assists.
 
Dulic came up big in net with a season-high 12 saves and a steal. She played all 32 minutes.
 
CBU was led by GCC Newcomer of the Year and All-Conference First-Team honoree Emmie Ramirez who submitted a hat trick and two assists. The Lancers used three goalkeepers who all played at least a quarter.
 
It was a revenge game for the Tigers who dropped a 13-11 nail-biter to the Lancers in the regular season match-up in Stockton. Pacific improved to 19-12 all-time against CBU and it was the first postseason game between the two since the Tigers won 12-8 in the 2016 GCC semifinals.
 
Up next, Pacific will face eighth-ranked and top-seeded LMU at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Tigers are 16-14 all-time against the Lions and 8-4 in neutral site match-ups, but LMU won the regular season game this year 13-7.

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