The No. 19-ranked UCSD women’s water polo team logged in double duty in a weekend series at Canyonview Pool, pushing through four quarters of overtime before finishing off Cal State San Bernardino, 6-5, on April 10, while letting an early 3-0 advantage slip away to No. 12 UCSB in a 7-5 decision on April 11.
It was a tug-of-war weekend for UCSD, which stood its ground firmly, save for the few missteps that made or broke each game. UCSD and CSU San Bernardino pulled the momentum back and forth, trading the lead four times, including twice in the second period, before redshirt freshman two-meter Natalie Hockett ended the marathon with less than a minute left in the second sudden-death period.
The Tritons subdued UCSB for three quarters, aided by a pair of goals from junior driver Jessica Wong that provided a safe, if only momentary, cushion, before the Gauchos finally wrestled the lead away with two quick strikes at the beginning of the fourth.
With the weekend split, the Tritons remain below .500 at 12-16 with only five games left in the regular season. The two-week period of rest following a 2-1 performance at the Loyola Marymount tournament on March 26 and 27 saw the Tritons drop five spots in the national rankings despite some strong, yet down to the wire, performances against unranked Redlands and Cal State San Bernardino.
Despite anomalies in the records, however, the Tritons are in the driver’s seat for a second seed in the upcoming Women’s Western Water Polo Association championships; at 4-2 in conference play, UCSD holds a one-game advantage over rival UC Davis, including a Feb. 21 head-to-head win over the Aggies, who are 4-3 in the WWPA. Since UC Davis has concluded its regular season, it would take at least a UCSD loss to UC Santa Cruz, whom the Tritons easily dispatched 14-4 in a Feb. 21 match, at the Long Beach State Invitational on April 17 and a lot of finger crossing for the Aggies to get the nod, the benefits of which are an easier first-round opponent followed by a possible and highly probable rematch between the two schools in the semifinals. Loyola Marymount will claim the top seed with a 6-0 conference record.
Strong defense has carried the Tritons so far in 2004, but, as displayed against UCSB, UCSD can still have its armor pierced in certain situations. Struggling to penetrate a strong barrier at two-meters led by senior two-meter defender Meris Bantilan-Smith, the Gauchos were forced to take to the air, firing shots from seven and eight meters out that found their way into the cage that in two quick instances, demolished a lead steadily built up by four goals from Wong and junior utility Tobi Lyman.
UCSB’s Sarah Kovach and Alaina Whitaker parlayed their long shots into two goals at the start of the fourth quarter, breaking a deadlock and giving the Gauchos their first lead of the game, a decisive 6-4 advantage.
“”[UCSB] had some good shooters that made some good shots that went in, bad angled shots. When you’re playing good teams, you can’t make mistakes,”” said UCSD head coach Larry Sanders.
The Tritons nearly saw their advantage depleted even sooner when UCSB’s Mica Bell, in response to Wong’s second goal that gave the UCSD a two-goal lead, tallied twice by the 2:32 mark in the third quarter to equalize.
“”There’s nothing negative you can say about our defensive performance,”” Sanders said. “”Sometimes there’s nothing you can do. We were running our defense and taking calculating risks.””
UCSD defense was its stalwart self against Cal State San Bernardino keeping the Coyotes within one goal throughout a tense match. Despite making more work for itself by allowing a tying goal with 37 seconds left in the first of two three-minute overtime periods after a UCSD breakthrough early in the period, the Tritons kept the Coyotes to a hush in extra time.
Senior goaltender Stephanie Lombardo once again displayed her prowess in the cage, picking up 13 saves in the winning effort. Bantilan-Smith led the Tritons with two goals, including one with 3:02 left in the fourth that sent the game into overtime.
UCSD’s offense witnessed a boost in its overall presence, accompanying the defense whenever it let up in making both matches nail-biters.
A 1-0 Cal State San Bernardino advantage was quickly dispatched in the second period as the Tritons struck twice before two minutes had flashed off the board. When the Coyotes went up 3-2 at the half, the Tritons responded again, equalizing by the 3:47 mark in the third.
The same offensive muscle put the Gauchos on the ropes early on with a 3-0 first-quarter advantage. When UCSB threatened and eventually took the lead, UCSD continued to push for that equalizer. Lyman hit her second score with less than five minutes left to cut UCSB’s lead to 6-5, but couldn’t come up with a tying goal or respond to Jennifer D’Anna’s second goal of the match.
With the regular season winding down, look for the Tritons to begin making a final push toward consistency in their strong defense while shoring up on offense and strengthening their avenues of attack. The Tritons round out their home schedule on April 16 at Canyonview Pool, hosting crosstown nemesis San Diego State at 6 p.m. in the second annual Harper Cup. They will complete their regular season at the Long Beach State Tournament, squaring off against UCSC in a key WWPA match and Hawaii on April 17, and hosting Long Beach State and Pacific on April 18 in Long Beach, Calif.
