Friday, May 12
Stockton, CA
2:00 PM
UCLA
21-7
14
vs
12
UC Irvine
20-7
1
2
3
4
OT
OT
F
UCI WOMEN
4
3
2
3
0
0
12
UCLA Women
2
3
5
4
0
0
14
Graduate student Ava Johnson scored her sixth hat trick of the season (second straight) in the win over UC Irvine.
Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA
No. 3 UCLA Rallies Past No. 3 UC Irvine, 14-12
May 12, 2023 | Women's Water Polo
SOCIAL MEDIA: WWP on Twitter | WWP on Facebook | WWP on Instagram
STOCKTON, Calif.ย โ 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,ย whileย 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 Anteatersย 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 whileย 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 (NCAAย Championship - First-Round Game)
Stockton, Calif.ย (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 โ UCLA: 3/14, UCI: 4/10
Penalty Shots โ UCLA: 1/1, UCI: 0/0
UCI Goals: Elena Flynn 6, Jessica Lynch 3,ย Nioka Thomasย 1, Kili Skibby 1, Gabby Norris 1
UCI Saves:ย Erin Tharp 5
UCLA Goals:ย 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:ย Georgia Phillips 5
ย
Team Stats
UCI
UCL
Shots
34
29
Goals
12
14
Assists
11
11
Points
23
25
Exclusions
14
10
Steals
6
7
Sprints
2
2
1
Jessica Lynch
07:04
Taylor Smith
06:13
Kili Skibby
05:10
Lily Gess
04:54
Nioka Thomas
04:36
Gabby Norris
00:14
2
Jessica Lynch
07:19
Sienna Green
06:04
Brooke Doten
05:18
Elena Flynn
03:56
Elena Flynn
00:48
Ava Johnson
00:11
3
Brooke Doten
06:54
Jessica Lynch
06:10
Ava Johnson
03:47
Katrina Drake
01:23
Molly Renner
00:39
Elena Flynn
00:25
Val Ayala
00:04
4
Elena Flynn
06:57
Molly Renner
05:42
Elena Flynn
05:06
Ava Johnson
04:49
Elena Flynn
04:29
Emma Lineback
04:12
Val Ayala
01:48
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
5
Goals
3
Assists
1
Points
4
Shots
4
Goals
2
Assists
0
Points
2
Shots
3
Goals
2
Assists
0
Points
2
Players Mentioned
ATK
/ Women's Water Polo
UTL
/ Women's Water Polo
UTL
/ Women's Water PoloCTR
/ Women's Water Polo
ATK
/ Women's Water Polo
GK
/ Women's Water PoloATK
/ Women's Water Polo
ATK
/ Women's Water PoloNo. 4 UCLA vs. No. 3 Hawai'i Highlights
Monday, April 14
Highlights - UCLA W. Water Polo vs. Princeton (March 13, 2025)
Friday, March 14
UCLA vs. Princeton
Thursday, March 13
No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 15 Indiana
Sunday, March 09