WATER POLO — Though its record may not indicate it, the No.
16 UCSD women’s water polo team has played well in its first several games, and
confidence from the coach and players has the Tritons poised to improve their
record in upcoming contests. The Tritons exhibited their newfound attitude in a
home match against Cal State San Bernardino on Feb. 16, where they won 10-7.
The win improves UCSD’s overall record to 4-7 with all of its losses coming
against ranked opponents.
The Tritons, who had won all of their previous 11 games
against CSUSB, struggled in the first half against the Coyotes, falling behind
2-0 after CSUSB’s first two possessions of the contest. With
Nicole Hermann netted a 6-on-5 goal from the strong-side wing to cut the
Coyote’s lead to 2-1.
On the ensuing possession, the Tritons took advantage of
another defensive miscue by the Coyotes as sophomore attacker Audra Bloom
gained inside water and drew a penalty shot for UCSD. Junior attacker Sydney
Gstettenbauer made good on the five-meter penalty shot, tying the game at 2-2.
The game remained tied for most of the first quarter with
senior goaltender Kim Hockett blocking a tough shot on a 5-on-6 possession with
seconds left in the period, the Coyotes broke the tie with a goal from their
two-meter to give CSUSB a 3-2 lead heading into the second quarter.
Senior attacker Elizabeth Hahn opened up the scoring with a
goal from the point position to tie the game once again. UCSD’s defense was not
able to hold the Coyotes back, allowing them to score two straight goals — one
of them off of a UCSD ejection — to give CSUSB a 5-3 lead with 4:09 left in the
half. With
sophomore utility Stephanie Heinrich converted a 6-on-5 opportunity from the
weak-side wing to cut the Coyotes’ lead to one at intermission.
“We really struggled in the first half of the game,” head
coach Larry Sanders said. “We were missing shots on an open cage.”
The Tritons came out in the second half looking like a
different team on both sides of the ball. Within the first 15 seconds of the
third period, the Tritons drew a CSUSB ejection on UCSD’s counterattack.
Hermann missed her shot attempt during UCSD’s advantage, but got her own
rebound and scored to tie the game.
With less than five minutes left in the third period, the
Tritons caught a break when one of CSUSB’s players was called for an illegal
entry from the penalty corner, giving the Tritons an extra 6-on-5 opportunity.
Bloom took advantage of the Coyotes’ mistake, netting a goal to give the
Tritons a 6-5 lead.
UCSD’s defense held the Coyotes scoreless for the rest of
the quarter and with 18 seconds left in the period, two-meter Judy Emaus scored
the Tritons’ third straight goal to give UCSD a two-goal lead entering the
final period.
The Tritons scored two more goals to open the fourth
quarter, giving them a commanding five-goal advantage and nearly assuring them
victory. The Coyotes were able to add two scores, but the Tritons held on to
post a 10-7 victory.
UCSD’s strong second half saved the Tritons from losing to
the Coyotes for the first time in the school’s history. The Tritons outscored
the Coyotes 6-1 in the second half of the game, taking complete control of the
contest.
“In the second half, we played like we should have been
playing the whole time,” Sanders said. “We played better defense in the second
half and we did a good job of putting the ball in the goal.”
Before the win against CSUSB, the Tritons went 2-2 at the
Triton Invitational on Feb. 9 and Feb. 10, placing seventh out of 15 teams.
UCSD suffered a 12-11 overtime loss to Western Water Polo Association defending
champion Loyola Marymount in the tournament.
“Our goal is to win conference this year and we just lost in
sudden death to the team that won the championship last year,” Hockett said.
The Tritons have a long road ahead of them starting with a
tournament at UC Irvine on Feb. 23 and Feb. 24. UCSD will have a tough start at
the tournament, as it faces No. 2 Stanford University in its opening game.
