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STOCKTON, Calif. – No. 3 UCLA (21-7) advanced to the Semifinals of the 2023 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship with a 14-12 win over No. 3 UC Irvine (20-7) on Friday afternoon at Chris Kjeldsen Pool at the Douglass M. Eberhardt Aquatics Center on the campus of Pacific.
A total of nine different Bruins got into the scoring column, paced by the sixth hat trick of the year (second-consecutive) by graduate student Ava Johnson. The Bruins had three other players record multiple goals in the win, including two goals from sophomore Molly Renner and graduate student Val Ayala. Brooke Doten also scored twice against the Anteaters. It marked the first time that the Bruin senior scored multiple goals in a game in her career.
Redshirt senior Georgia Phillips got the start in the cage and went the distance, registering five saves and one steal, while giving up 12 goals to the Anteaters.
The game had seven ties and two lead changes before the Bruins took command of the game in the second half of the fourth quarter. The Bruins tied the game at 2-2, but UCI scored two goals at the end of the first to lead 4-2 at the end of one. The Anteaters enjoyed a 7-4 lead until Johnson scored a power play goal in the final minute of the second period to cut the deficit to 7-5 at the break. Irvine led 8-6 with 6:10 remaining in the third when the Bruins mounted their comeback. UCLA would score three straight goals (Johnson, Katrina Drake, and Renner) with Renner's penalty conversion giving the Bruins their first lead of the game with 0:39 left in the third.
UCLA would continue to score first with Irvine tying it up for most of the fourth quarter until the two teams were tied at 12-12. Sophomore Emma Lineback scored the eventual game-winning goal with both teams at full strength at the 4:12 mark and Ayala tacking on an insurance goal with 1:48 to go.
The Anteaters only had five players score, but Elena Flynn scored half of her team's total with six goals on the day. Erin Tharp also had five saves for UC Irvine while surrendering 14 goals to the Bruins.
The Bruins will now face top-seeded Stanford in the Semifinals of the 2023 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. PT. The game will be streamed live on NCAA.com. The Cardinal advanced with a 23-0 win over Biola on Friday.
No. 3 UC Irvine vs. No. 3 UCLA (NCAA Championship - First-Round Game)
Stockton, Calif. (Chris Kjeldsen Pool at the Douglass M. Eberhardt Aquatics Center)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| No. 3 UC Irvine | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 12 |
| No. 3 UCLA | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 14 |
6x5 – UCLA: 3/14, UCI: 4/10
Penalty Shots – UCLA: 1/1, UCI: 0/0
UCI Goals: Elena Flynn 6, Jessica Lynch 3, Nioka Thomas 1, Kili Skibby 1, Gabby Norris 1
UCI Saves: Erin Tharp 5
UCLA Goals: Ava Johnson 3, Brooke Doten 2, Val Ayala 2, Molly Renner 2, Taylor Smith 1, Lily Gess 1, Sienna Green 1, Emma Lineback 1, Katrina Drake 1
UCLA Saves: Georgia Phillips 5