IRVINE, Calif. -- Sophomore attacker Kathleen Schafle led the UC Davis women's water polo team, the No. 2 seeds in the Big West Conference Championships, with a hat trick; however, No. 3 UC Irvine came away with the 10-7 upset win over the Aggies in the semifinal round at the Anteater Aquatics Complex in Irvine, Calif., on Saturday afternoon.

Starting off the first quarter of play, senior utility Paige Virgil opened the match up with a power-play goal at the seven-minute mark, assisted by junior utility Annie Kutt; however, the Aggie lead was short-lived as UC Irvine's Natalie Siederman and Tara Prentice scored the next two goals of the game to conclude the opening quarter with a one-point lead.

In the second quarter of the game, the game play followed a similar pattern in that the Anteaters came away with two goals, while the Aggies trailed behind with one goal. The second UC Davis goal came from Kutt, assisted by Schafle, but UC Irvine's two goals widened the gap to a two-point difference leading into the second-half of the dual.

Both teams tied in scoring in the third quarter with three goals apiece. Sophomore utility Chloe Robinson netted a power-play goal at the five-minute mark, while junior defender McKenna Hauss followed directly behind with a goal of her own, assisted by junior utility Emily Byrne, exactly two-minutes later. The Anteater's Keana Eldridge was able to get in the next two goals of the game; however, Schafle found an opportunity to collect her first of three goals in between Eldridge's two goals.

Entering into the final quarter of the conference matchup with a 7-5 UC Irvine lead, both teams continued to score; however, the Anteater's three goals over the two Aggie goals allowed them to widen their score to a three-point difference of 10-7 upon conclusion of the match.

UC Irvine's Julie Swieca and Allie Loomis temporarily gave their team a four-goal lead; however, Schafle pushed through to score back-to-back goals for the Aggies, the first assisted by Kutt and the second assisted by Byrne, to narrow the gap to two halfway through the quarter.

Unfortunately, the scoring was low for both teams in the final four minutes of the game, but UC Irvine's Cara Borkovec brought their final score to 10 after putting in a goal with three-minutes left on the clock

The UC Davis women's water polo team will continue their tournament run with a match against No. 4 Long Beach State on Sunday at noon for a chance to take home the consolation win, while the championship match will feature No. 1 Hawai'i and this match's winner, No. 3 UC Irvine.

2018 BIG WEST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIP
Anteater Aquatics Complex (Irvine, Calif.)

GOALS - UC DAVIS: Kathleen Schafle (3), Annie Kutt, McKenna Hauss, Paige Virgil, Chloe Robinson (1); UC IRVINE: Allie Loomis, Keana Eldridge, Tara Prentice (2), Tori Schakelford, Julie Swieca, Cara Borkovec, Natalie Siederman (1).

GOALIE SAVES - UC DAVIS: Caitlin Golding (8, 32:00); UC IRVINE: Jenna Phreaner (14; 32:00)

CONNECT WITH WOMEN'S WATER POLO ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
UC Davis Women's Water Polo Facebook Page
UC Davis Women's Water Polo Twitter Page
UC Davis Women's Water Polo Instagram Page

ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley.

Ranked among the top 10 public universities in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal and U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 undergraduate majors across four colleges and six professional schools, including the world's top-ranked veterinary science and agriculture programs.

DON'T MISS OUT!
Tickets for all UC Davis sports are available by contacting the Athletics Ticket Office at (530) 752-AGS1, or by visiting us online at UCDavisAggies.com.

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