Score: UC Davis 6, Long Beach State 8
Location: Long Beach, Calif. (Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center)
Records: UC Davis 8-10 (1-1), Long Beach State 8-8 (1-0)
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Despite a gritty second-half surge and a four-goal performance from
Chelsea Johnson, UC Davis women's water polo fell 8-6 to Long Beach State on Friday night. A resilient 5-1 scoring run across the final two periods brought the Aggies within striking distance in their second Big West Conference matchup of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The game opened with a defensive stalemate as both UC Davis and Long Beach State traded exclusions and missed attempts before The Beach broke through with the first goal at the four-minute mark.
- The Beach added a second strike late in the frame to hold a 2-0 lead over the Aggies heading into the first break.
- After the Beach extended their lead with three unanswered goals to start the second, Liberty Massman put the Aggies on the board by converting a power play off a feed from Ashley Wallin.
- Following a series of physical exchanges and penalties, Long Beach State managed two more goals to enter halftime with a 7-1 advantage.
- Gianna Nocetti ignited the second-half comeback by winning the opening sprint of the third, leading to a Chelsea Johnson goal assisted by Madison Sparre.
- After a response from The Beach, Johnson found the back of the cage again on a power play—this time via a Lillie Vehling assist—to cut the lead to 8-3 to end the third period.
- Nocetti secured her second sprint of the night to start the fourth, allowing Johnson to complete her hat trick with a power-play goal just 45 seconds into the quarter.
- Keeping the momentum high, Johnson drew a penalty and buried the five-meter shot to bring the Aggies within three.
- Following a UC Davis timeout and a flurry of defensive stops, Nocetti capitalized on a Johnson assist to net her first goal of the game, bringing the score to a narrow 8-6 with under two minutes remaining.
- The Aggies continued to press in the final minute, but the Beach defense held firm to preserve the 8-6 final score.
UP NEXT: The Aggies continue their Southern California road trip with another Big West matchup, taking on UC Irvine on Sunday, Mar. 1 at 12:00 p.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/.
