Score: UC Davis 16, UC Irvine 15
Location: Irvine, Calif. (Anteater Aquatics Complex)
Records: UC Davis 9-10 (2-1), UC Irvine 5-11 (1-2)
IRVINE, Calif. — Five goals from
Chelsea Johnson led No. 16 UC Davis women's water polo to a come-from-behind 16-15 overtime victory over No. 9 UC Irvine on Sunday afternoon. Goalie
Eva Stein anchored the defense with 15 saves to secure the pivotal road upset and move the Aggies to 2-1 in Big West play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- UC Irvine opened the game with a 4-0 run before Chelsea Johnson put the Aggies on the board with a power-play conversion at the three-minute mark.
- Ashley Wallin followed with a goal off a Johnson assist, and Johnson capitalized on a five-meter penalty shot in the final seconds to close the first quarter 4-3.
- Following a defensive stalemate to start the second, Ally Smith finished a Madison Sparre pass to tie the game at 4-4.
- Smith found the back of the net again three minutes later to give UC Davis its first lead, but the Anteaters responded with three unanswered goals to enter halftime ahead 7-5.
- Liberty Massman sparked the third-quarter comeback with a goal off a feed from Wallin, who then added her own to pull the Aggies into a 7-7 tie.
- UC Irvine reclaimed the lead with another 3-0 run, but Gianna Nocetti halted the momentum with a late strike to close the third period trailing 10-8.
- Nocetti won the opening sprint of the fourth quarter—completing a perfect 4-for-4 sweep on the day—and immediately scored on a Wallin assist.
- Johnson leveled the game with her third goal to record the hat trick, but back-to-back UC Irvine scores moved the Anteaters ahead 12-10 with under two minutes remaining.
- Johnson struck twice on consecutive power plays to tie the game at 12-12 before Ali Giusti gave the Aggies a late 13-12 lead with only 30 seconds on the clock.
- UC Irvine answered with an equalizer in the final 12 seconds of the fourth, forcing a 13-13 tie and sending the game into overtime.
- Nocetti opened the first overtime period by finishing a Johnson assist to secure her hat trick, followed by a Sadie Henry strike to grant the Aggies a two-goal cushion.
- After a response from UC Irvine, Wallin netted her hat trick of the afternoon to ensure a 16-14 Aggie lead heading into the final three-minute frame.
- Despite a final UC Irvine goal with 17 seconds left, the two-point cushion held as UC Davis finalized the 16-15 overtime upset.
UP NEXT: The Aggies travel to Stockton, Calif. next weekend for a matchup against Pacific on Saturday, Mar. 7 at 5:00 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/.
