Aggies fall to No. 4 Wahine in sudden victory

April 2, 2016

HONOLULU - Four Aggies scored two goals each but it was a two-meter goal from center Nikki-Marie Bell 78 seconds into the sudden-victory period that ultimately lifted No. 4 Hawai'i to escape an upset against No. 9 UC Davis in Big West Conference women's water polo action at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex Saturday night. The Rainbow Wahine prevailed by a 10-9 final.

The Aggies slip to 14-10 overall and 0-2 in conference games. The 'Bows improve to 17-5 for the year and remain unbeaten in Big West play at 2-0.

Juniors Bryn Lutz, Hannah Harvey and Carla Tocchini each netted two goals, as did sophomore Greta Kohlmoos. Senior Allyson Hansen tallied the remaining goal. Oddly, this marks the second straight meeting the Aggies and Wahine in which UH won by a 10-9 score in extra frames.

UC Davis never trailed in regulation, trading a single goal with Hawai'i in the first quarter. Hansen opened the second quarter by drawing a five-meter foul, and Tocchini converted the penalty shot. Tocchini then returned the favor two minutes later by drawing an exclusion, with Hansen finishing the power play to extend the lead 3-2. Tocchini added another goal with 2:37 remaining in the second to give UC Davis a 4-2 halftime edge.

Kohlmoos scored on a sweep shot early in the third frame, extending the Aggie lead to its largest point of 5-2, but Hawai'i responded with three straight goals. Bell answered with her hat-trick goal a minute later, freshman Irene Gonzalez scored in transition at the three-minute mark, then another first-year, Femke Aan, delivered the equalizer with less than a minute.

Kohlmoos put UC Davis back on top by a 6-5 advantage with her goal from set to open the fourth. However, the 'Bows defended against a power play, then tied the contest for a third time on Bell's second-chance goal at 5:51. Harvey scored on a counterattack with 4:31 to go, but Gonzalez scored in similar fashion to lock up the board at 7-7 with 2:23 left in regulation. Both defenses held for the remainder of regulation.

Hawai'i took a 9-7 lead after the first three minutes of overtime on back-to-back goals from Gonzalez. However, Bryn Lutz came up strong with two goals, a steal and a field block in the remaining overtime segment, forcing the sudden-victory period. Harvey won the opening sprint, and UC Davis drew a power-play opportunity, but could not close out. Hawai'i finished the win on Bell's fifth goal with 1:42 on the clock.

This is the fourth consecutive series matchup settled by a single goal, with Hawai'i winning all four. UC Davis returns to action with continued Big West road play at UC Santa Barbara on April 9, CSUN on April 10.