UCLA
Wagner
No. 5 UCLA Defeats No. 21 Wagner, 16-6
January 26, 2020 | Women's Water Polo
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. --ย No. 5 UCLA (8-1) trailed in the second quarter but scored five straight goals en route to a 16-6 win over No. 21 Wagner (1-3) in the final game of the Michigan Invitational on Sunday afternoon atย Canham Natatorium. The Bruins improved to 4-0 all-time against the Wagner Seahawks.
The Bruins were led byย freshman Abbi Hill, who scored a season-high seven goals on nine shots. Redshirt freshman Georgia Phillips got the starting nod and played the first three quarters, tallying a season-high 11 saves while allowing four goals. Junior Jahmea Bent played the final quarter and registered four saves while pitching a shutout.
Hill got the Bruins on the board first with a power play goal at the 6:13 mark. After Wagner's Malia Josephson scored back-to-back goals (5:42 and 3:56), junior Lexi Liebowitzย scored a power play goal (1:47) to tie it at 2-2. Sofia Diaz Alvarez gave the Seahawks a 3-2 lead (1:13), which was answered with a power play goal by sophomore Val Ayala (0:33) to end the scoring in the first period with the game tied at 3-3.
Savannah Henshawย gave Wagner a 4-3 on a power play to open the scoring in the second quarter (6:02), but the Bruins would have a big response. Freshman Hannah Palmer scored from the front court (5:04) to tie the game at 4-4. Sophomore Ava Johnson regained the lead for the Bruins with a goal from set at the 3:36 mark. Then Hill netted her second of the game on a power play (2:33) to push the lead to 6-4. Hill completed her hat trick off a feed from Johnson to beat the buzzer (0:01), giving the Bruins a 7-4 lead at the break.
Hill opened the scoring in the third period with her fourth goal (7:44) and the Bruins' fifth-straight score to extend the lead to 8-4. After a penalty goal by Wagner (6:40), Hill answered with her own penalty conversion for her fifth score (6:26). Senior Emily Skelly scored her first of the game on a strike from the front court (5:31) to push the lead to 10-5. Then Hill went back-to-back for her sixth and seventh goals of the game (2:43 and 1:11) to push the lead to 12-5.ย Alvarez scored for Wagner to trim the Bruins' lead to 12-6 heading into the fourth.
The Bruins pitched a shutout in the fourth period. Ayala scored her second of the game on a power play (7:24) to open the scoring in the fourth. Sophomore Skylar Savarย scored her first of the game (6:44) to extend the lead to 14-6. Ayala then completed her hat trick off a feed from Johnson (5:54) to make it 15-6. Freshman Layne Anzaldo scored the first goal of her collegiate career to end the scoring in the game (1:10) to provide the 16-6 final.
UCLAย returns to action next week on Friday, Jan. 31 when they host San Jose State in the MPSF and home opener for the Bruins at 6:00 p.m. PT at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center.
No. 5 UCLA vs. No. 21 Wagner (Game Nine - Michigan Invitational)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| No. 21 Wagner | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| No. 5 UCLA | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 16 |
6x5 -ย UCLA - 2/8 - WC - 5/8
Penalties -ย UCLA - 1/1 - WC - 1/1
WC Goals:ย Malia Josephson 2, Sofia Diaz Alvarez 2,ย Abbey Simshauser 1,ย Savannah Henshaw 1
WC Saves:ย Katherine Campbell 4
UCLA Goals:ย Abbi Hill 7, Val Ayala 3, Layne Anzaldo 1, Hannah Palmer 1, Ava Johnson 1, Emily Skellyย 1,ย Skylar Savar 1, Lexi Liebowitz 1
UCLA Saves:ย Georgia Phillips 11, Jahmea Bent 4
