Score (Game 1): UC Davis 29, McKendree 3
Score (Game 2): UC Davis 13, Michigan 14
Location: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Canham Natatorium)
Records: UC Davis 6-8
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — UC Davis women's water polo split a high-scoring doubleheader on Saturday, opening the Midwest Invite with a record-setting 29-3 victory over McKendree before falling in a narrow 14-13 thriller to No. 16 Michigan. The morning session was headlined by career-best performances from
Lillie Vehling,
Sofia Bozzo, and
HanaLora Abel, while the afternoon featured a resilient comeback effort that saw the Aggies battle until the final whistle.
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME ONE)
- Liberty Massman opened the scoring for the Aggies with an assist from Chelsea Johnson, followed quickly by a strike from Ashley Wallin to take an early 2-0 lead.
- After goals from Margo Temple and Johnson, freshman HanaLora Abel netted two back-to-back goals to fuel a 6-0 Aggie run.
- The Bearcats responded with two goals, but Temple found the back of the net off a Lillie Vehling assist to give Davis a 7-2 lead after the first.
- In the second, Sadie Henry and Bozzo sparked a 6-0 shutout period for UC Davis, with Abel securing her first career hat trick during the run.
- Ally Smith cashed in on a penalty shot and Ali Giusti added a goal of her own to send the team into halftime up 13-2.
- McKendree struck first coming out of the break, but Wallin responded with her second goal before assisting Bozzo on a follow-up strike to keep the momentum.
- The Aggies then rattled off four straight goals from Katy Westphal, Vehling, Giusti, and Nina Albers, before Abel closed the period with her fourth goal of the day and career-high to make it 20-3.
- An offensive explosion in the fourth saw Henry net four straight goals to finish with a team-high five, while Vehling (three) and Bozzo (four) added two goals each to secure their respective career highs.
- Smith sealed the 29-3 victory with a final strike in the closing minute.
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME TWO)
- Massman gave UC Davis an early 1-0 lead off a Johnson assist, but Michigan responded with two straight before Gianna Nocetti equalized at 2-2.
- Nocetti followed with a 5-meter penalty shot to briefly reclaim the lead, although a Wolverine response tied the match at 3-3 to end the first.
- Massman opened the second quarter scoring her second, yet Michigan answered with three straight goals to pull ahead by two.
- Sofia Bozzo came through with a clutch Aggie goal to cut the deficit to 5-6 heading into the break.
- Michigan opened the third with a goal, but Wallin and Johnson led the comeback effort, with Johnson equalizing the game at 8-8.
- After the Wolverines netted another, regaining the advantage, Nina Albers delivered a crucial goal in the final 13 seconds of the period to send the game into the fourth tied at 9-9.
- The Wolverines opened the fourth with four unanswered goals to take a 13-9 lead.
- Nocetti and Bozzo narrowed the gap to 11-13 before Michigan added one more to go back up by three with just two minutes remaining.
- Johnson and Temple scored back-to-back in the final minute to bring Davis within one, but a final effort from Vehling was blocked by the Michigan defense to seal the 13-14 loss.
UP NEXT: The Aggies wrap up the Midwest Invite tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 15, with a morning slate against Indiana at 6:15 a.m. PT before returning to the pool to take on Mercyhurst at 9:30 a.m. PT.
ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS:
UC Davis, the No. 2 ranked public university by the Wall Street Journal, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked No. 1 in Agriculture and Forestry as well as No. 1 in Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026–27.
For more information, visit https://ucdavisaggies.com/.
