IRVINE, Calif. (March 4th, 2023) – The No. 10 UC Santa Barbara women's water polo team (14-6, 0-1 Big West) went head to head with No. 6 UC Irvine (9-6, 1-0 Big West) in their first Big West matchup of the 2023 season. The top-10 clash required overtime to find a winner, but it was the Anteaters who game out on top.

#10 UCSB 8, #6 UC Irvine 10
Goalscorers: Leigh Lyter (1), Caitlyn Snyder (2), Juju Amaral (1), Nina Munson (1), Drew Halvorson (1), Cami Mras (1), Annie Kuester (1)

The Gauchos came out strong, holding a 2-0 lead after the first quarter. However, the Anteaters struck back in response as the two teams battled for control. The halftime whistle left the scoreboard reading 4-4. Never breaching more than a two point differential throughout all four quarters of play, the second half saw an equal show of ferocity. A tight battle left the teams in a tie at the final buzzer, resulting in a mandatory two halves of overtime. During these extra minutes, Irvine was able to notch two more goals, to bring the final score to 8-10 in favor of the home team. Caitlyn Snyder was able to contribute a two goal gift to the Gaucho effort, with other solo strikes coming from across the UCSB roster. 

UP NEXT
UCSB will host No. 5 Hawai'i at home for their second game of Big West play. The action is set to kick off at 12:00pm, at Campus Pool.

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This article was contributed by Giselle Lewis. Lewis is the head writing intern for UC Santa Barbara Athletic Communications.