No. 6/6 UC Irvine Can't Hold Off No. 3/3 UCLA In 16-15 Loss
IRVINE, Calif. – No. 6/6 UC Irvine couldn't hold off No. 3/3 UCLA in a tough 16-15 loss at the Anteater Aquatics Center Saturday afternoon.
UCLA scored three fourth quarter goals to edge the Anteaters who went scoreless for almost the final seven minutes of the final frame.
The Anteaters (3-5) were led by Lauren Hett's five goals, followed by Brooke Hourigan with four goals and two assists.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Libby Alexander added two goals, two assists and a steal
>Nioka Thomas netted two goals while Kennedy East and Pippa Heaver added one each
>Goalkeeper Ella Walker logged five saves in her first career start
>Sara Naulty had a team-best three assists
>The Bruins (8-1) were led by Emma Lineback and Anna Pearson with four goals each
>UCLA goalkeeper Joey Niz was clutch late, recording 12 saves while starter Lauren Steele had two saves
>The Bruins took advantage of 14 UCI exclusions, scoring on four power plays and five penalty shots.
SCORING BREAKDOWN:
First Period: Scoring was fast and furious with four goals in the first minute of the game, two for each side…Libby Alexander got the scoring started with a five-meter penalty shot at 7:40 followed by a goal at 7:26 then one by Brooke Hourigan at 7:14 and a five-meter penalty shot by the Bruins at 7:02…Alexander added another goal on the powerplay at 6:26 then a UCLA turnover led to a goal by Lauren Hett on the counter-attack at 6:04…UCI would extended the lead to 6-2 on goals by Hett (4:39) and Pippa Heaver at 3:07 before UCLA closed within 4-6 with a pair of goals…Nioka Thomas added the final goal of the quarter 1:27, helping the Anteaters to a 7-4 advantage
Second Period: Hett got the scoring going at 7:12 followed by Bruin goal at 6:37 (8-5)…teams would trade empty possessions until Kennedy East buried a goal from up top at 3:38…A Bruin five-meter goal at 1:16 and a steal that led to a last second goal for UCLA ended the half with UCI leading 9-7
Third Period: Another flurry of goals started with a UCLA goal at 7:31 only to watch the Anteaters answer with a five-meter goal by Hett at 7:20…Next time down the pool UCLA scored at 6:57 then UCLA keeper Joey Niz stopped a 6-on-5 opportunity by UCI that led to a powerplay goal by the Bruins to tie the score at 10-10 at 5:35…Thomas drew a five-meter penalty and Hourigan dented the twine to put UCI up 11-10 with 3:43 to play…UCLA would tie it again at 2:23 followed by Hourigan sailing a ball past Niz at 1:55 from a pass by Sara Naulty…back-and-forth they would go as a Bruin five-meter goal at 1:45 tied it again at 12-12 before Hourigan put it away from the left side with 53 seconds to play…Walker recorded a save the next trip down sending the teams into the final period with UCI leading 13-12
Fourth Period: The teams traded goals, UCLA on a five-meter (7:44) and UCI on a man-advantage by Hett with 7:11 to go (14-13)…A quick goal after an Anteaters exclusion at 2:58 knotted the game at 14 all then after a UCI five-meter chance bounced off the bar, UCLA took their first lead of the game with a goal by Anna Pearson at 2:35…UCLA fought off a 6-on-5 by UCI before another five-meter penalty shot by Bia Mantellato gave the Bruins a 16-14 advantage…Thomas would score the final goal for UCI with seven seconds to go for the final 16-15 score.
UP NEXT
UCI will host the Barbara Kalbus Invitational Feb. 21-23. UCI will start the tournament Friday against Loyola Marymount at 4:40 p.m. from the Anteater Aquatics Complex.
UCLA scored three fourth quarter goals to edge the Anteaters who went scoreless for almost the final seven minutes of the final frame.
The Anteaters (3-5) were led by Lauren Hett's five goals, followed by Brooke Hourigan with four goals and two assists.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Libby Alexander added two goals, two assists and a steal
>Nioka Thomas netted two goals while Kennedy East and Pippa Heaver added one each
>Goalkeeper Ella Walker logged five saves in her first career start
>Sara Naulty had a team-best three assists
>The Bruins (8-1) were led by Emma Lineback and Anna Pearson with four goals each
>UCLA goalkeeper Joey Niz was clutch late, recording 12 saves while starter Lauren Steele had two saves
>The Bruins took advantage of 14 UCI exclusions, scoring on four power plays and five penalty shots.
SCORING BREAKDOWN:
First Period: Scoring was fast and furious with four goals in the first minute of the game, two for each side…Libby Alexander got the scoring started with a five-meter penalty shot at 7:40 followed by a goal at 7:26 then one by Brooke Hourigan at 7:14 and a five-meter penalty shot by the Bruins at 7:02…Alexander added another goal on the powerplay at 6:26 then a UCLA turnover led to a goal by Lauren Hett on the counter-attack at 6:04…UCI would extended the lead to 6-2 on goals by Hett (4:39) and Pippa Heaver at 3:07 before UCLA closed within 4-6 with a pair of goals…Nioka Thomas added the final goal of the quarter 1:27, helping the Anteaters to a 7-4 advantage
Second Period: Hett got the scoring going at 7:12 followed by Bruin goal at 6:37 (8-5)…teams would trade empty possessions until Kennedy East buried a goal from up top at 3:38…A Bruin five-meter goal at 1:16 and a steal that led to a last second goal for UCLA ended the half with UCI leading 9-7
Third Period: Another flurry of goals started with a UCLA goal at 7:31 only to watch the Anteaters answer with a five-meter goal by Hett at 7:20…Next time down the pool UCLA scored at 6:57 then UCLA keeper Joey Niz stopped a 6-on-5 opportunity by UCI that led to a powerplay goal by the Bruins to tie the score at 10-10 at 5:35…Thomas drew a five-meter penalty and Hourigan dented the twine to put UCI up 11-10 with 3:43 to play…UCLA would tie it again at 2:23 followed by Hourigan sailing a ball past Niz at 1:55 from a pass by Sara Naulty…back-and-forth they would go as a Bruin five-meter goal at 1:45 tied it again at 12-12 before Hourigan put it away from the left side with 53 seconds to play…Walker recorded a save the next trip down sending the teams into the final period with UCI leading 13-12
Fourth Period: The teams traded goals, UCLA on a five-meter (7:44) and UCI on a man-advantage by Hett with 7:11 to go (14-13)…A quick goal after an Anteaters exclusion at 2:58 knotted the game at 14 all then after a UCI five-meter chance bounced off the bar, UCLA took their first lead of the game with a goal by Anna Pearson at 2:35…UCLA fought off a 6-on-5 by UCI before another five-meter penalty shot by Bia Mantellato gave the Bruins a 16-14 advantage…Thomas would score the final goal for UCI with seven seconds to go for the final 16-15 score.
UP NEXT
UCI will host the Barbara Kalbus Invitational Feb. 21-23. UCI will start the tournament Friday against Loyola Marymount at 4:40 p.m. from the Anteater Aquatics Complex.
