
No. 2 UCLA Tops No. 22 LMU in Opener, 11-2
January 13, 2018 | Women's Water Polo
LOS ANGELES โ No. 2 UCLA defeated No. 22 Loyola Marymount Saturday, 11-2, in the 2018 opener for both teams. Playing in the UCLA Invitational at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center's Park Pool, the Bruins did not allow a goal over 22:55 of gameplay between the first and third quarters.
The win marked the first for Adam Wright as head coach of the women's team.
Devin Grab, Bronte Halligan, Maddie Musselman and Roxy Wheaton each scored two goals. Jahmea Bent posted six saves in her 2018 debut, including a big stop on a Lion penalty shot with the Bruins leading 3-1 in the second.
LMU got on the board first in the morning contest, as Hana Vilanova got one past Bent at 7:10 of the opening frame. Musselman, who scored a UCLA freshman-record 69 goals in 2017, would answer at 4:56 with the first Bruin goal of the year. A steal by Grace Reego led to a Lion exclusion, which the redshirt junior was able to capitalize on to give the Bruins their first lead. Bent was a force in goal during the game's opening minutes, racking up four saves in eight minutes, including a pair while facing a disadvantage.
Halligan netted the game's next goal nearly halfway through the second quarter, as she put the Bruins up by a 3-1 score (4:09). Bent came up big again in the second, when she stopped a Marissa Bryant-Manago penalty shot that would have cut a tenuous Bruin lead to one. Halligan scored again at 1:35 before Wheaton posted the first of her career (0:29) to send the game to the half with the Bruins leading, 5-1.
At 4:54 of the third, freshman Lexi Liebowitz scored her first goal. Returning from an injury-shortened 2017, Devin Grab scored on a lob shot (0:48) for the first of her senior campaign. Abbey Grosse ended LMU's scoring drought with the third-quarter clock winding down (0:15), sending the game to the fourth with the Bruins leading, 7-2.
Musselman (6:45) and Wheaton (6:00) each scored within the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, giving them two goals apiece. Haley Evans found the back of the at 5:16 to put the Bruins into double digits, while Devin Grab scored her second at 4:03 to complete the scoring.
Next up for the Bruins is a trip to the UCSB Invitational, where they will play five games in three days. Following a scrimmage against the Chinese National Team on Jan. 19, UCLA will take on No. 8 Michigan on Jan. 20 at 9:00 a.m. (PT). They will return later in the day to face Fresno Pacific at 1:45 p.m. Each games will take place at the UCSB Campus Pool.
No. 22 Loyola Marymount (1, 0, 1, 0 โ 2)
GOALS: Grosse, Vilanova โ 1
SAVES: Wright โ 6
No. 2 UCLA (2, 3, 2, 4 โ 11)
GOALS: Grab, Halligan, Musselman, Wheaton โ 2; Evans, Liebowitz, Reego โ 1
SAVES: Bent โ 6