UCLA
California
Bruins Edge Bears for Third at Kalbus Invite
February 26, 2017 | Women's Water Polo
IRVINE, Calif. -- The No. 3 UCLA women's water polo team defeated No. 4 California, 12-11, to secure a third-place finish at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational Sunday. For the second consecutive day, the Bruins played a game in which neither team had a comfortable advantage until the final whistle.
The Golden Bears got scoring started, when Anna Illes netted the game's first goal at 6:53 of the opening frame. Less than a minute later, Alexa Tielmann of UCLA (11-1) answered to even the game at 1-1. Bronte Halligan of the Bruins and Cal's Genevieve Weed alternated the next two scores before Grace Morgan was able send Cal to the first break with a 3-2 advantage.
Cal rode the momentum from Morgan's first-period goal into the second frame, where they scored three of the first four goals to establish a game-high three-goal lead at 6-3. Kodi Hill and Kelsey O'Brien responded, however, to send the game to the half with the score 6-5 in favor of Cal (12-3).
Less than a minute into the second half, UCLA's Alys Williams knotted the game at 6-6. The Golden Bears then scored three of the game's next four goals to take a 9-7 lead at 3:21 of the third frame. The Bruins once again answered, as Mackenzie Barr was able to cut their deficit in half at 9-8, before Tielmann added her second of the contest to tie the game. Then, with seconds winding down, Maddie Musselman found the back of the net to give UCLA its first lead since the opening frame.
The Golden Bears' Dora Antal completed a hat trick to even the score with 6:50 to play, before Williams reestablished the lead for the Bruins 23 seconds later. Weed responded for Cal to even the game at 11-11 and set the stage for a dramatic finish.
With 18 seconds left and possession of the ball unclear, Cal attempted to call a timeout and was whistled for a penalty. That put the ball in the hands of UCLA's Rachel Fattal, who netted the deciding goal with just 17 seconds left on the clock. The Golden Bears were unable to answer and the Bruins claimed the third-place result.
Next up for the Bruins is a trip to Saratoga, Calif., where they will play San Jose State in their first MPSF clash. Scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 4, play will begin at 1:00 p.m.
No. 3 UCLA (2, 3, 5, 2 โ 12)
Fattal โ 3; Tielmann, Williams โ 2; Barr, Halligan, Hill, Musselman, O'Brien
No. 4 California (3, 3, 3, 2 โ 11)
Antal โ 3; Paul, Weed โ 2; Avalos, Illes, Morgan, Wright โ 1
