Feb. 14, 2016 LA JOLLA, Calif. - Less than a day after posting a career-high saves total, junior goalkeeper Olivia Husted posted two late blocks then assisted utility Bryn Lutz on a buzzer-beating lob, leading No. 7 UC Davis to a 10-9 upset of No. 5 Arizona State in the third-place game of the Triton Invitational women's water polo tournament Sunday evening. The Aggies previously lost to No. 1 UCLA by a 5-1 final in the semifinal round.
UC Davis improves to 8-4 for the season, posting its best finish in the Triton since its runner-up showing in 2009, when none of the country's top four teams participated. Sunday's win over the Sun Devils also marks the program's first upset of a top five program since last year's 6-5 Big West Conference victory over then-No. 5 UC Irvine.
Husted finished the contest with 11 saves, a steal and two assists. Senior Ariel Arcidiacono and junior Hannah Harvey led the offense with two goals each, while Allyson Hansen, Carla Tocchini, Courtney Weddle, Hailey Wright and McKenna Hauss also scored. Lutz netted the Aggies' lone goal in the morning loss to UCLA.
UC Davis overcame an initial 2-0 deficit and a late 8-5 hole to complete the upset of the Sun Devils. ASU senior and 2012 Olympian Ao Gao scored the first of her game-high three goals to boost her team to a 2-0 lead through the first seven minutes of play. Arcidiacono converted a power play and Harvey scored on a counterattack to equalize at 2-2 at the end of the opening quarter. UC Davis took the lead when Hansen and Tocchini netted goals within a minute of each other, setting the board at 5-4. However, ASU scored four unanswered to start the third quarter in crafting an 8-5 edge by the 3:05 mark.
The Aggies answered back with three straight of their own. Wright scored on a second chance after an ASU exclusion, Weddle connected from the outside, then Hauss sent a lob into the cage for the game's fifth equalizer at 8-8 early in the fourth. The Sun Devils briefly regained the lead on Daisy Carter's hat trick goal with 5:45 remaining in regulation, only to have Harvey knot the contest for a sixth time a minute later.
The two defenses locked down their respective cages for nearly the remainder of the contest. Husted came up with a key save after Tocchini fouled out of the game at 1:09, then stopped another ASU attempt with just three ticks left. UC Davis called its final timeout to draw up a play. Lutz freed herself from the pack to collect a pass from Husted, then scored the game-winner on a lob in the final second.
The win over Arizona State is the Aggies' first in the series since March 5, 2005. The two teams had met twice since, with the Sun Devils winning by margins of three and two goals, respectively.
UC Davis opened its day with a 5-1 loss to UCLA. Senior Haley Cameron tallied 11 saves in the defensive battle, helping the Aggies hold the Bruins to their lowest scoring output in series history. Junior Mackenzie Barr scored two goals for UCLA to help establish a 5-0 lead at halftime. Neither team scored in the third, while Lutz converted a 6-on-5 chance to put UC Davis on the board at the midpoint of the fourth frame.
Husted's heroics follow Saturday's 12-6 win over UC Irvine in which she posted the No. 2 single-game saves total in program history. Lutz, the team's 2015 leader in both assists and total points, raises her 2016 goals total to 16.
The Aggies return home to host the two day, eight-game Davis Shootout on Saturday and Sunday. The tournament field comprises California, Pacific, CSU Bakersfield, Brown, Stanford and UC Davis.
2016 TRITON INVITATIONAL WOMEN'S WATER POLO TOURNAMENT, DAY TWO
Canyonview Aquatic Center • UC Davis games only.
| No. 7t UC Davis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | 1 |
| No. 1 UCLA | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | 5 |
GOALS - UC DAVIS: Bryn Lutz 1. UCLA: Mackenzie Barr 2, Devin Grab 1, Charlotte Pratt 1, Alexa Tielmann 1.
| No. 7t UC Davis | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | - | 10 |
| No. 5 Arizona State | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | 9 |
GOALS - UC Davis: Ariel Arcidiacono 2, Hannah Harvey 2, Allyson Hansen 1, Carla Tocchini 1, Courtney Weddle 1, Hailey Wright 1, McKenna Hauss 1, Bryn Lutz 1. ASU: Daisy Carter 3, Ao Gao 3, Maud Koopman 2, Lena Mihailovic 1.
