UCLA
Loyola Marymount
No. 3 UCLA Remains Undefeated with Two More Wins
February 02, 2019 | Women's Water Polo
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LOS ANGELES -- No. 3 UCLA improved to 10-0 on the year with a pair of wins over nationally-ranked teams at the UCLA Mini-Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 2 at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center. The Bruins began the day with a 9-8, come-from-behind win over No. 15 Loyola Marymount (2-1) and then completed play with an 11-8 win over No. 14 Fresno State (2-7).
In the win over the LMU Lions, the Bruins were led by seniors Rachel Whitelegge and Kelsey Blacker, who each scored two goals. Sophomore Jahmea Bent got the starting nod and went the distance, registering nine saves while allowing eight goals.
LMU opened the game with a 2-0 lead before senior Sarah Sheldon got the Bruins on the board (2:02) with a goal at two meters to cut the deficit to 2-1 at the end of the first period. The two teams battled to a 4-4 tie at the break with the Bruins getting second quarter power play goals from freshman Katrina Drake, junior Emily Skelly and senior Allison Wieseler.
The Lions took a 6-5 lead into the fourth, allowing only one goal for UCLA in the third quarter, a shot from two meters by Blacker (4:21). LMU's Marialena Seletopoulou converted a penalty shot to open the scoring in the final period (5:52), giving the Lions a 7-5 lead. Whitelegge scored her first goal off a rebound on a power play (5:00) to cut the deficit to 7-6. But Hana Vilanova scored from the front court (4:41) to put LMU back up by two goals at 8-6. That's when the Bruins went to work, with Whitelegge netting her second goal on another power play (3:36) to cut the Lions' lead to 8-7. Then Blacker scored her second from two meters (3:07) to tie it up at 8-8. After a couple defensive stops by UCLA, junior Bronte Halligan, who registered three assists earlier in the game, called her own number on a counter attack after a turnover by LMU and scored with 0:35 remaining in the game. The goal was the ultimate game-winner as Bent turned the Lions away on their final shot attempt to preserve the 9-8 win.
No. 15 Loyola Marymount at No. 3 UCLA (UCLA Mini-Tournament)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| No. 15 LMU | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| No. 3 UCLA | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
6x5 - UCLA - 5/14 - LMU - 3/6
Penalties - UCLA - 0/0 - LMU - 1/1
LMU Goals: Abbey Grosse 2, Marialena Seletopoulou 2, Hana Vilanova 2, Katie Hungerford 1, Morgan Molloy 1
LMU Saves: Elizabeth Bradley 7
UCLA Goals: Rachel Whitelegge 2, Kelsey Blacker 2, Sarah Sheldon 1, Allison Wieseler 1, Bronte Halligan 1, Katrina Drake 1, Roxy Wheaton 1
UCLA Saves: Jahmea Bent 9
In the win over the Fresno State Bulldogs, the Bruins were led by junior Maddie Musselman, who tied her career-high of five goals for the sixth time in her collegiate career and for the second time this weekend. Freshman Bella Baia also chipped in two scores while senior Carlee Kapana started in goal for UCLA, going the distance for a season-high 12 saves while allowing eight goals.
The Bruins would not have a repeat of the first game of the day, jumping out to a 3-1 lead at the end of the first period. UCLA received power play goals from Musselman (5:41) and Baia (1:45) and a penalty shot conversion from freshman Val Ayala (0:35). UCLA had a 5-3 lead at halftime with each team scoring twice in the second period. The Bruins got a counter attack goal from Baia (3:17) and a power play strike from Musselman (1:50) in the second quarter.
UCLA exploded for five goals in the third period to build a commanding 10-6 lead entering the final stanza. Musselman scored a hat trick in the third to bring her goal total to five in the game. The Bruins also received power play goals from redshirt senior Grace Reego and junior Bronte Halligan in the third quarter. Junior Brooke Maxson opened the scoring in the fourth quarter (5:50) to push the lead to 11-6. FSU scored two goals in the final four minutes to provide the 11-8 final.
The Bruins return to action next weekend at the UCSD Triton Invitational on Feb. 9-10. The Bruins will open with Santa Clara on Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. PT.
No. 14 Fresno State at No. 3 UCLA (UCLA Mini-Tournament)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| No. 15 FSU | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| No. 3 UCLA | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 11 |
6x5 - UCLA - 8/13 - FSU - 4/10
Penalties - UCLA -1/1 - FSU - 0/0
FSU Goals: Emily Ciacono 2, Trystyn Vuori 2, Callie Woodruff 1, Sydney Coachman 1, Yesenia Preciado 1, Sienna Jagielski 1
FSU Saves: Mackenzie Richards 9
UCLA Goals: Maddie Musselman 5, Bella Baia 2, Grace Reego 1, Val Ayala 1, Bronte Halligan 1, Brooke Maxson 1
UCLA Saves: Carlee Kapana 12
