UCLA
UC Santa Barbara
No. 2 UCLA Upset at No. 11 UC Santa Barbara, 9-8
January 17, 2020 | Women's Water Polo
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. --ย No. 2 UCLA (1-1) went over 18 minutes without a goal and couldn't complete the comeback despite a furious rally at No. 11 UC Santa Barbara (1-0), falling 9-8 on Friday night at the UCSB Winter Invitational. It was the Bruins' first loss to the Gauchos since 1995, falling to 42-2 all-time against UCSB.
The Bruins were led by hat tricks from freshman Abbi Hill and sophomore Katrina Drake. Redshirt freshman Georgia Phillipsย got the starting nod in the cage for UCLA and went the distance in her first collegiate game, recording nine saves while allowing nine goals.
UC Santa Barbara scored the first two goals of the game, but then UCLA reeled off the next four to take a 4-2 lead in the first period. Hill scored the first for UCLA from two meters (6:27), followed by another score from set by Drake (4:53). Drake made it back-to-back goals with a power play goal (2:23) to give UCLA its first lead of the game. Sophomore Bella Baia made it 4-3 when she converted a penalty shot (1:47). The Gauchos tacked on another goal on a nice drive and finish by Courtney Heydorff (1:33) to end the scoring in the first with the Bruins leading 4-3.
But the Bruins' offense went cold, going scoreless for over 18 minutes, including all of the second and third quarters. Meanwhile, UCSBย ran off four more goals (five straight) to build a 7-4 lead heading into the fourth. The Bruins were able to stay in the game by holding the Gauchos scoreless in the third quarter as well.
Hill opened the scoring in the fourth period with her second of the game on a power shot from two meters (7:04) to cut the deficit to 7-5. After a goal by UCSB (6:19), sophomore Ava Johnson scored a power play goal (5:46) to make it 8-6. Sarah Owens scored the eventual game-winner for UCSBย from the front court (3:31) to extend the Gauchos' lead to 9-6. Drake completed her hat trick on a power play (2:14) to cut the deficit to 9-7. Hill then completed her hat trick with a score from the front court (1:11) to pull to within 9-8. But UCSBย would get the stop they needed down the stretch to preserve the win for the Gauchos.
UCLA will return to action tomorrow when they take on No. 13 UC San Diego at 9:45 a.m. PT at UCSB's Campus Pool.
No. 2 UCLA at No. 11 UC Santa Barbara (Game Two)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| No. 2 UCLA | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| No. 11 UCSB | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
6x5 -ย UCLA - 3/8 - UCSB - 5/13
Penalties -ย UCLA - 1/2 - UCSB - 1/2
UCLA Goals:ย Abbi Hill 3, Katrina Drake 3, Bella Baia 1, Ava Johnson 1
UCLA Saves:ย Georgia Phillips 9
UCSB Goals:ย Sarah Snyder 4, Dani Kauahi 1, Amanda Legaspi 1, Sarah Owens 1, Kate Coski 1, Courtney Heydorff 1
UCSB Saves:ย Kenzi Snyder 9
