April 25, 2010
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Freshman Jessica Dunn scored a career-high five goals while senior goalkeeper Casey Hines stopped a pair of five-meter penalty shots to help 17th-ranked UC Davis claim a 12-7 win over host Long Beach State in the fifth-place game of the Big West Conference women's water polo tournament at Campus Pool Sunday.
The Aggies end their season at 16-17. The 49ers, among those receiving votes for the national coaches' poll, finish up at 8-21. The fifth and sixth places by the two teams match their respective seeds heading into the conference tourney.
Sophomore Kaylee Miller and junior Michelle Hook each added two goals for UC Davis, while Carmen Eggert, Rachelle Smith and Ariel Feeney notched one apiece. For LBSU, Lauren Sieprath tallied a pair of goals. Hines finished with 11 saves in the Aggie net, while her counterpart Kristen Stragier picked up 10.
UC Davis never trailed in the match, scoring three unanswered in the first 2:17 of play to capture the lead. Miller connected seconds after the opening sprint, Smith converted a 6-on-5 chance less than a minute later, then Dunn hit her first with 5:43 on the clock. The Beach finally got on the board with two minutes left in the frame on a Chelsea Grabowski goal.
Eggert and Miller scored on extra-man opportunities in the first and second period, respectively, extending the Aggie lead to 6-2. However, 49er freshman Claire Martin scored on the next possession to trim the lead to three, then hole setter Miranda Furuto hit a 6-on-5 to bring the tally to 6-4. A five-meter penalty shot sent LBSU sophomore Krizia Cerda to the line, but Hines made the stop to hold the Aggies' halftime lead at two goals.
Dunn completed her hat trick with five-meter penalty shots of her own in the third, extending the UC Davis advantage to four. Cerda hit her second five-meter attempt to cut the lead back to three, but the Beach never came any closer. Hook scored on the ensuing possession to ignite a run of three straight Aggie goals, then Hines again blocked a Cerda five-meter penalty shot in the final seconds of the third.
This is the Big West Conference's second year of sponsoring women's water polo. The league will own an automatic qualifier to the National Collegiate (NCAA) Championship starting in 2011.
| Long Beach State (8-21) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | 7 |
| #17 UC Davis (16-17) | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 | - | 12 |
GOALS - LBSU: Lauren Sieprath 2, Chelsea Grabowski 1, Miranda Furuto 1, Claire Martin 1, Krizia Cerda 1, Melissa Matheson 1. UC Davis: Jessica Dunn 5, Kaylee Miller 2, Michelle Hook 2, Carmen Eggert 1, Rachelle Smith 1, Ariel Feeney 1.
GOALIES - LBSU: Kristen Stragier 10 saves, 12 goals against (32:00). UC Davis: Casey Hines 11 saves, 7 goals against (32:00).
