SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – UC Davis women's water polo has found some fantastic form as it enters Big West Conference play, picking up a 12-10 victory over No. 10 UC Santa Barbara to cap off a perfect 2-0 weekend.
 
UC Davis (12-8, 2-0 Big West) has won five straight contests and open its conference slate with a pair of consecutive victories. The fiercely competitive match was tied at 6-6 going into halftime, but the Aggies tightened up defensively in the last 16 minutes while doing just enough offensively to down the nation's tenth-ranked team
 
Graduate student Ally Clague shined yet again, leading UC Davis with five goals on the day. The center defender also came up with two huge field blocks and dished out an assist in her spectacular showing.
 
Noëlle Wijnbelt and Kelly Hungerford enjoyed multi-goal performances as each would score twice in the contest. For the second straight game, Nellie McAdams was rock solid in goal, making eight saves to earn the win.
 
How It Happened
After a scoreless three minutes, Clague opened the scoring to give the Aggies an early lead. UC Santa Barbara replied with a power-play goal, but Hungerford would restore the UC Davis advantage to make the score 2-1 at the end of one.
 
The Gauchos would level things up in the second period, racking up five goals. Clague and Hungerford would find the back of the cage to keep the Aggies in it before Sam Yoo got in on the action with the team's fourth goal of the quarter, and there would be nothing to separate the two teams after playing to a 6-6 tie at the break.
 
Wijnbelt started to find rhythm in the second half by quickly netting two goals to thrust UC Davis into the lead. The hosts would answer back with three goals of their own, but Madison Sparre and Clague replied to give the Aggies a one-goal advantage going into the final frame.
 
Clague took matters into her own hands in the final period, firing two goals to give her team the lead for good. UC Santa Barbara mustered one goal in the fourth, but UC Davis would hang on for the 12-10 win.
 
Up Next
UC Davis returns to Schaal Aquatics Center to host Indiana on March 16. That match is slated for 6 p.m.