Feb. 13, 2016 LA JOLLA, Calif. - Junior goalkeeper Olivia Husted tallied a career-high 18 saves with just six goals allowed while junior center Carla Tocchini posted a hat trick to lift No. 7 UC Davis to a 12-6 win over No. 9 UC Irvine in Saturday's nightcap at the Triton Invitational women's water polo tournament.
The Aggies, who previously rode senior
Allyson Hansen's four goals to a 10-5 victory against 25th-ranked CSUN, will play for one of the top four places in the annual UC San Diego tournament.
Husted, whose previous high was 17 against Fresno Pacific last March, tallied a pair of stops against five-meter penalty shots among her heroics. The first such block came as part of a 4-0 UC Davis run to start the contest while the second came in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Husted also enters a tie for second in the school single-game record book, joining Casey Hines (2010) and Riane Woods (2012). Hines holds the school record of 20 saves, performed against Maryland also in 2010.
Tocchini struck twice in the opener, first on a back-hander from set to start the contest then another on a power play that boosted the Aggies to a 5-2 lead after the initial frame. She completed her hat trick midway through the second as part of a six-goal explosion that lifted UC Davis to an 11-4 halftime lead.
Juniors Bryn Lutz and Hannah Harvey added two goals in the win over UCI. Lutz scored both of hers in the second while Harvey netted 6-on-5 goals in the second and fourth. Greta Kohlmoos, Ariel Arcidiacono, Jill Bushman, Hansen and Sammy Preston also hit tallies for UC Davis.
The 12-6 win over the 'Eaters marks only the second win in the series during the last 12 years, joining last year's 6-5 upset in conference play during April. It also represents the Aggies' largest margin of victory against UCI in series history.
In similar fashion, UC Davis exploded to a highly offensive second quarter in the morning win over CSUN after briefly falling into a 2-1 hole from back-to-back goals from Matador sophomore Madeline Sanchez. Freshman Heather Johnson scored on a counterattack to equalize at 2-2 going into the second, but the Aggies again fell behind when Shannon Havanesian scored in transition to open the frame.
UC Davis responded with five unanswered to take a 7-3 lead at the halftime break, then made it six straight with Hansen's power-play goal with 6:11 in the third. Hansen scored two goals in the 5-0 comeback, plus an assist to sophomore Jill Bushman. Arcidiacono had the equalizer that made it 3-3 with 6:19 to go, and Harvey made it 7-3 with less than three minutes left before the intermission.
Harvey, Hansen and Arcidiacono each scored goals to keep the game out of CSUN's reach. Senior Haley Cameron recorded eight saves against 25 shots faced in her start in front of the UC Davis cage.
The Aggies will take on No. 1-ranked UCLA in Sunday's 11:10 a.m. semifinal, then will take on either No. 2 USC or No. 5 Arizona State to close out the weekend. This will be UC Davis' highest finish at the Triton Invitational since 2009, when the Aggies lost to then-No. 5 San Diego State in the title game.
2016 TRITON INVITATIONAL WOMEN'S WATER POLO TOURNAMENT, DAY ONE
UC San Diego Canyonview Aquatic Center
| No. 25t CSUN | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 5 |
| No. 7t UC Davis | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | - | 10 |
GOALS - CSUN: Madeline Sanchez 2, Shannon Havanesian 2, Amy Yule 1. UC DAVIS: Allyson Hansen 4, Hannah Harvey 2, Ariel Arcidiacono 2, Heather Johnson 1, Jill Bushman 1.
| No. 9 UC Irvine | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 6 |
| No. 7t UC Davis | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | - | 12 |
GOALS - UCI: Kelli Baumgardner 2, Mackenzie Milham 2, Natalie Seidemann 1, Mary Brooks 1. UC DAVIS: Carla Tocchini 3, Bryn Lutz 2, Hannah Harvey 2, Greta Kohlmoos 1, Ariel Arcidiacono 1, Jill Bushman 1, Allyson Hansen 1, Sammy Preston 1.
