UCLA
Wagner (First Round)
Bruins Sink Seahawks, Advance to Semis
May 12, 2017 | Women's Water Polo
INDIANAPOLIS – The top-seeded UCLA women's water polo team advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Championships Friday with a 17-2 win over Wagner at the IU Natatorium. Four players notched hat tricks for the Bruins, who will face the winner of the California-UC Irvine quarterfinal Saturday at 12:00 p.m., PT.
The Bruins scored early and often in the opening frame, as Alexa Tielmann scored at 6:53 of the first to establish a lead they would never relinquish. Less than 30 seconds later, Kodi Hill followed suit with an even-strength goal of her own. Just past the midway point of the quarter, Tielmann added a power-play goal for her second of the afternoon. Scoring proved prevalent from the center position in the first, as Alexis Angermund twice capitalized on power-play opportunities to push the lead to 5-0. Rachel Fattal completed first-quarter scoring at 1:34, as UCLA led Wagner, 6-0.
It took Maddie Musselman 16 seconds to get things going in the second, as she stretched the lead to 7-0 after capitalizing on a power play. Mackenzie Barr also took advantage of a Wagner exclusion just over a minute later, as the senior netted her first goal of the game. Tielmann completed her hat trick at 1:06 of the frame to send the Bruins to the half with a 9-0 advantage.
The second half was more of the same for both teams, as Musselman quickly got scoring started again at 6:57 of the third. Fattal joined the multi-goal club at 5:15 of the frame and Musselman one-upped her Olympic teammate with a hat trick 48 second later. An extra-player opportunity aided Barr in netting her second to complete a run of 13 consecutive goals to open the game for the Bruins.
Before exiting the contest at 2:30 of the third, UCLA goalkeeper Carlee Kapana recorded eight saves in the cage. Hannah Storum would take over and pick up two of her own after relinquishing the Seahawks' first goal of the game at 2:08 of the penultimate quarter. Kimberly Watson did the third-quarter damage for Wagner, which completed its season with a 26-11 record.
Jacqueline Sjogren added a second goal for Wagner in the fourth, but it was surrounded by four more UCLA scores. Rachel Whitelegge (7:11) and Aubrie Monahan (0:01) got into the act, while Barr (6:14) and Angermund (3:06) completed their hat tricks. Each of Barr's goals came on a power play, as the Bruins capitalized on eight of 12 Seahawks exclusions.
Wagner (0, 0, 1, 1 – 2)
Sjogren, Watson – 1
No. 1 UCLA (6, 3, 4, 4 – 17)
Angermund, Barr, Musselman, Tielmann – 3; Fattal – 2; Hill, Monahan, Whitelegge – 1
