March 25, 2006

DAVIS, Calif. - Mary Lowe and Katherine O'Rourke each posted a pair of goals on a very blustery Saturday afternoon at the Schaal Aquatics Center as UC Davis took a 9-3 win over non-conference opponent Brown. Despite a close first half, the Aggies were able to pull away from the Bears in the back half of the game and lifted their overall season record to 10-8, Brown's record fell to 4-10.

In the first possession of the game, Brown suffered an exclusion which was converted into an Aggie goal as Lowe grabbed her first point of the game with a cross cage shot into the high corner. Both the Bear's and Aggies traded ejections for the next several minutes until Jessi Lafayette scored on a sweep shot out of center to put UC Davis ahead 2-0 with 36 seconds left in the first quarter. Nineteen seconds later, Alexis Blaxberg was able to score on a step-out shot from center to bring the Bears within one goal.

In the second quarter the Bears once again encountered an exclusion within the first possession which O'Rourke used to tally her first goal as she shot and scored from the post position. The Bears responded with a low corner skip shot from Paige Lansing that brought the score once again within one point. Unfortunately for Brown, that would be its last goal of the first half as the Aggies went on to score back-to-back goals provided by Sofia Patronas and Christi Raycraft. UC Davis entered halftime with a 5-2 lead.

Lowe opened up the third quarter with her second goal of the game and Casie Mota was able to slide one in during the last minute to further the Aggie lead to 7-2. Elizabeth Balassone grabbed the third goal for the Bears within the first minute of the final quarter with an outside shot, but it would prove to be Brown's final goal as Lindsay Kiyams and O'Rourke added two more to the Aggie total to bring the final score to 9-3.

O'Rourke continues to lead the Aggies in goals scored with 28 on the season.

The Aggies will continue their busy spring break with road games against Cal State Bakersfield and Cal State San Bernardino on Sunday. UC Davis will face the Roadrunners in Bakersfield at 10 a.m. before traveling to San Bernardino to take on the Coyotes at 5 p.m. Both games are Western Water Polo Association conference match-ups. The Aggies currently hold a conference record of 5-1.

UC Davis 9, Brown 3

            1    2    3    4    FinalUC Davis    2    3    2    2      9Brown       1    1    0    1      3

UC Davis Goals: Katherine O'Rourke 2, Mary Lowe 2, Christi Raycraft 1, Casie Mota 1, Sofia Patronas 1, Lindsay Kiyama 1, Jessi Lafayette 1.
Brown Goals: Paige Landing 1, Alexis Blaxberg 1, Elizabeth Balassone 1.

UC Davis Goalie Saves: Lina Moore 1, Amber Korner 4.
Brown Goalie Saves: Anne Deggeiman 7.