March 29, 2006
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Despite late-game heroics from junior goalkeeper Amber Korner and sophomore attacker Casie Mota, UC Davis was unable to fully overcome its early two-goal deficit, dropping a 3-2 loss against Loyola Marymount in Western Women's Water Polo Association action at the Burns Recreation and Aquatics Center Wednesday.
The 14th-ranked Aggies snap their four-game winning streak, fall to 13-9 for the season. The fourth-ranked Lions improve to 15-3 overall and remain undefeated against WWPA foes.
Katherine O'Rourke and Mota each scored second-half goals for UC Davis, while Korner finished the day with 13 saves. For LMU, Cara Colton, Lindsey O'Farriell and Alexandra Wike each had one score.
LMU crafted a relatively quick early lead in somewhat unusual fashion. Less than three minutes into the contest, Colton fired a shot that was Korner initially deflected. The attempt glanced off the head of LMU freshman Nicole Hughes, before finding its way into the Aggie net. O'Farriell connected on the Lions' second goal less than 90 minutes later to give her team a 2-0 advantage that lasted through the halftime break.
O'Rourke broke the scoreless stretch early in the third period as her lob eluded the reach of Lions goalkeeper Katie Murray, but Wike answered back with a goal with 4:23 remaining in the third to put LMU back up by two goals.
With 74 seconds remaining in the game, Mota delivered the Aggies' second goal to cut the Lion edge by a single score. Korner's 13th and final save with 50 seconds remaining game UC Davis a final opportunity to tie the game and force an overtime. However, LMU's defense prevented the Aggies from attempting a shot.
This is the fourth time in the past six years that LMU and UC Davis have battled to a one-goal game. The rivalry dates back to the 2001 season, when the Lions edged the Aggies, 7-6, in the title game of the WWPA tournament, denying UC Davis a berth in the inaugural NCAA Championships.
The Aggies return to action with a home game against UC Irvine on April 7, then host the two-day Aggie Shootout tournament on April 8-9.
| UC Davis (13-9) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | - | 2 |
| Loyola Marymount (15-3) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 3 |
GOALS - UC Davis: Katherine O'Rourke, Casie Mota. LMU: Cara Colton, Lindsey O'Farriell, Alexandra Wike.
GOALIE SAVES - UC Davis: Amber Korner 13. LMU: Katie Murray 6.
