April 24, 2015 HONOLULU - Senior Keelia Houston scored four goals while junior center Allyson Hansen added two more to help fifth-seeded and No. 8-nationally ranked UC Davis hold on to a 10-9 win over fourth-seeded and 14th-ranked UC Santa Barbara in the quarterfinal round of the Big West Conference women's water polo tournament Friday night at Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.
The Aggies improve to 19-12 for the season. They will face top-seeded and No. 5 ranked UC Irvine in Saturday's first semifinal, contested at 8:45 p.m. Pacific time (5:45 p.m. local).
Hansen scored two goals in each of the first and third quarters while Hansen netted hers in the first and fourth frames. Junior Ariel Arcidiacono, freshman Paige Virgil, freshman Greta Kohlmoos and sophomore Bryn Lutz also scored goals. Senior Jillian Wilding tallied eight saves with a pair of steals in front of the UC Davis cage.
For UCSB, Samantha Murphy, Brenna Thomas and Bryn Hudson each scored twice while goalie Mackenzie Brokaw notched nine saves.
The Gauchos jumped out to a 2-0 start after Hudson finished a counterattack just three minutes into the contest. Houston answered on the next possession to halve the deficit, only to have UCSB extend its lead on a Brenna Thomas power-play goal. However, UC Davis responded with two 6-on-5 goals of its own: first on a "quick-quick" by Hansen then Houston with the equalizer with 1:22 left in the quarter.
The freshman tandem of Virgil and Kohlmoos scored twice in the second quarter -- Virgil on a lob, Kohlmoos on a back-hander from set -- to give UC Davis a 5-4 lead at the halftime break. Brenna Thomas converted an exclusion goal to tie the contest at 5-5 on the opening possession of the second half before UC Davis scored three unanswered during the next two minutes to take an 8-5 lead.
The Aggies maintained their lead the rest of the way although the Gauchos managed to battle back to a one-goal deficit on two occasions. Murphy scored from two meters on an after-timeout play with a minute remaining in the contest to bring the score to 10-9. Lutz then posted a key steal with 32 seconds remaining, protecting the tenuous Aggie edge. UC Davis called timeout and even drew an exclusion down the stretch to hold on to the victory.
Friday's win marks the first time UC Davis has advanced at the Big West Conference tournament since 2012, when the Aggies defeated the Gauchos by a 7-5 final in their home pool. UCSB held the higher seed in the 2015 edition by virtue of its 7-5 upset of UC Davis back on March 6.
| No. 8 UC Davis (19-12) | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | - | 10 |
| No. 14 UC Santa Barbara (13-18) | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | - | 9 |
GOALS - UC Davis: Keelia Houston 4, Allyson Hansen 2, Paige Virgil 1, Greta Kohlmoos 1, Ariel Arcidiacono 1, Bryn Lutz 1. UCSB: Samantha Murphy 2, Bryn Hudson 2, Brenna Thomas 2, Taylor Shore 1, Tess Wardle 1, Jade Wentz Fitzgerald 1.
GOALIE SAVES - UC Davis: Jillian Wilding 8 (32:00). UCSB: Mackenzie Brokaw 9 (32:00).
