IRVINE, Calif. – On day two of the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, the No. 15 UC Santa Barbara women's water polo team opened the day with an 11-10 win over No. 21 San Diego State before falling to No. 9 Arizona State 17-8 several hours later.
UCSB vs. San Diego St.
Goalscorers: Amaral (2), Lyter (2), Snyder (2), Halvorson (2), Kuester (2), Owens (1)
It was a balanced scoring effort for UCSB (10-6) against the Aztecs (1-7), as five different Gauchos scored twice. Defender Claire Kelly also had a team-high three assists.
Things stayed tight from start to finish, as neither team led by more than two goals. SDSU briefly led by one in parts of the first quarter, but Drew Halvrson's goal on UCSB's final possession of the period tied it at 3-3 and the Gauchos never trailed again.
Annie Kuester and Juju Amaral capped a 3-0 UCSB spurt with back-to-back goals early in the second, making it a 5-3 game. The Aztecs tied it with 3:11 to go, but the Gauchos ended the half on a 3-1 run with goals from Leigh Lyter, Caitlyn Snyder and Halvorson to go into halftime up 8-6.
SDSU again scored two straight to equalize midway through the third, but things would go the Gauchos' way down the stretch. Snyder and Owens both scored their second of the day to put UCSB back up by two.
The Gauchos led 10-9 in the final minutes, but Amaral provided the final dagger with 16 seconds left to give them a two-goal cushion and seal the win.
Goalkeeper Madison Button finished with five saves defending the cage.
UCSB vs. Arizona St.
Goalscorers: Amaral (2), Mras (2), Kuester (2), Owens (1), Kelly (1)
UCSB would fall behind early in its second game of the day, as Arizona State (8-6) jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Owens and Amaral both scored first quarter goals, but the Sun Devils led 6-2 after one and 10-4 at the half.
ASU's lead grew to as large as nine goals several times in the second half. Amaral scored two goals for the second time in the day and Cami Mras also put away two scores for the third time this season.
Kuester made it two straight games with a pair of goals. Owens scored for the fifth straight game and Kelly also found the back of the net.
Casey Coppock and Taylor McEvilly split time at goalkeeper, tallying three saves each.
Next Up
Tomorrow, the Gauchos close out their four-game weekend slate against No. 11 UC San Diego at 9:00 a.m. at the Marian Bergeson Aquatics Center.
