UCLA
CSUN
No. 2 UCLA Blasts No. 22 CSUN, 16-6
January 17, 2020 | Women's Water Polo
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- No. 2 UCLA (1-0) opened the 2020 season with a 16-6 win over No. 22 CSUN (1-1) on Friday afternoon at the UCSB Winter Invitational.
Redshirt freshman Alex Peros led the Bruins with a hat trick. Junior Jahmea Bent got the starting nod in the cage for UCLA and played the first half, registering five saves while allowing four goals. Freshman Quinn Winter played the second half in goal and tallied three stops while surrendering two scores.
Senior Roxy Wheaton got the Bruins on the board first with a strike from the front court (7:33). Sophomore Bella Baia made it 2-0 with a score from the front court (6:49). After a score by the Matadors (4:13), the Bruins reeled off three straight to end the scoring in the period with a 5-1 advantage. Senior Emily Skelly (3:52) scored from the front court, sophomore Val Ayala (2:02) added a power play goal, and freshman Abbi Hill (0:11) made a strong shot from two meters to extend the lead.
UCLA led 6-1 after Peros found the back of the net from the front court for her first score of the game (7:46). Sophomore Katrina Drake added back-to-back scores for UCLA with an exclusion goal (5:49) followed by a goal from set (2:58) to put UCLA up 8-2. Baia netted her second score of the game from the front court (2:08) that was sandwiched by two scores from CSUN (2:32 and 1:23) as the Bruins took a 9-4 lead into the break.
The Bruins won the third quarter, 5-1. Freshman Hannah Palmer scored her first goal as a Bruin on a power play (5:37), followed by another 6-on-5 goal by junior Lexi Liebowitz (4:38). Sophomore Ava Johnson netted her first of the season from two meters (3:54) followed by Peros' second goal on a power play (2:03) to extend the Bruins' lead to 13-4. After a score by CSUN, freshman Brooke Doten ended the scoring in the third period on a blast from the front court (1:22) to give UCLA a 14-5 advantage.
Peros completed her hat trick on a strike from the front court to open the scoring in the fourth period (6:09). After a counter score by CSUN in the final minute, Skelly netted her second from the front court (0:07) to provide the 16-6 final.
UCLA will face No. 11 UC Santa Barbara tonight at 6:00 p.m. PT.
No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 22 CSUN (Season Opener)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| No. 22 CSUN | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| No. 2 UCLA | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 16 |
6x5 - UCLA - 4/8 - CSUN - 2/7
Penalties - UCLA - 0/0 - CSUN - 0/1
CSUN Goals: Kylee Jansen 2, Tori Wilson 1, Jennalyn Barthels 1, Dafne Garcia 1, Katia Andon-Mateos 1
CSUN Saves: n/a
UCLA Goals: Alex Peros 3, Bella Baia 2, Katrina Drake 2, Emily Skelly 2, Abbi Hill 1, Hannah Palmer 1, Brooke Doten 1, Val Ayala 1, Ava Johnson 1, Roxy Wheaton 1, Lexi Liebowitz 1
UCLA Saves: Jahmea Bent 5, Quinn Winter 3
