April 3, 2011
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Nine different Gaucho players and five different Aggies scored goals as No. 14 UC Santa Barbara protected an early lead in a 9-5 win over No. 15 UC Davis in Big West Conference women's water polo action at Campus Pool Sunday afternoon.
UC Davis slips to 16-9 for the year and 0-2 in conference games. UCSB improves to 19-8 overall and 2-0 in Big West play.
Four of the five Aggie goals came as a result of 12 Gaucho exclusions. Sophomore Jessica Dunn converted a 6-on-5 opportunity in the first period, junior Carey Faber scored on a similar chance early in the second, junior Alicia Began scored on a power play with less than a minute in the first half, and sophomore Carmen Eggert completed a 6-on-5 goal with 2:08 remaining in the third. Senior Rachelle Smith was the only UC Davis player to score an even-strength goal, bringing the Aggies to within a two-goal deficit less than two minutes into the fourth frame.
UCSB never trailed in the contest, scoring four unanswered during the game's first six minutes. UC Davis approached to within two goals on three separate occasions, but the Gauchos managed to bump their lead back to three on the subsequent possession. Began's goal brought the tally to 5-3 at the 0:52 mark but Gaucho senior Kathryn Nelson answered with a goal to send her team to the break with a 6-3 lead.
Similarly, UCSB's Katie Zakula scored a half-minute after Dunn's goal put the score at 6-4. Rachel Nelson hit her goal some 26 seconds after Smith cut the deficit to 7-5 early in the fourth.
Aggie junior Ariel Feeney won three of the four sprints, one of which indirectly led to a UC Davis goal. Gaucho defender Kacey Creek was charged with a major with two seconds remaining in the first. Feeney beat Christie Clark for the second-quarter sprint, prolonging the 6-on-5 chance from the previous period. Aggie head coach Jamey Wright called a timeout to run a set play that resulted in Faber's score at 7:47 in the second.
UC Davis continues its Big West schedule with three straight home contests, starting with UC Irvine on Saturday. All conference games start at noon.
| #15 UC Davis (16-9, 0-2) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 5 |
| #14 UC Santa Barbara (19-8, 2-0) | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | 9 |
GOALS - UC Davis: Jessica Dunn, Alicia Began 1, Carey Faber 1, Carmen Eggert 1, Rachelle Smith 1. UCSB: Claire Buchanan 1, Christie Clark 1, Kacey Creek 1, Shelby Haroldson 1, Molly Hafferkamp 1, Kathryn Nelson 1, Katie Zakula 1, Rachel Nelson 1, Bryce Winton 1.
GOALIE SAVES - UC Davis: Riane Woods 7 (32:00). UCSB: Ruth Milne 10 (32:00).
