Trailing by two goals entering the fourth quarter, the Long Beach State women’s water polo team needed all the possessions it could get against rival UC Irvine. Unfortunately, just the opposite occurred in the Black and Blue rivalry series Thursday night.
The Anteaters kept coming up with extra possessions and – amid a few controversial calls – escaped with a 7-4 victory in front of an energized, standing-room-only crowd of 256 at the 49er Campus Pool. UCI (15-9 overall, 6-6 MPSF) clinched the No. 8 seed in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship Tournament scheduled for April 24 in San Diego.
“I think we put ourselves into position where we were bringing the referees into it, forcing them into making calls,” LBSU head coach Catharine von Schwarz said. “We weren’t playing good position defense.
The 49ers (15-14 overall, 4-7 MPSF) saw their four-game winning streak snapped and a chance to move up to the No. 8 seed slip away. However, the opportunities were limited in the fourth quarter.
Trailing 6-4 with 6:23 remaining and the shot clock running down, the Anteaters were able to regain possession for a new 35-second clock. UCI quickly capitalized as freshman driver Courtney Collyer gave the visitors a 7-4 lead with 6:00 to play.
Then, with 5:12 remaining, 49ers goalkeeper Kristen Stragier made one of her 10 saves, but immediately fired an outlet pass too far to give UCI another possession. The freshman also was whistled for a penalty with 2:37 left, watched the Anteaters misfire and was whistled again just moments after leaving the penalty area, giving UCI the ball back – again.
“We weren’t helping each other, we weren’t playing team defense,” said von Schwarz, “and so therefore, we were getting ourselves ejected on the perimeter when we needed to limit our ejections and get some offensive possessions under our belt.”
Stragier did make LBSU history, however, becoming the all-time single-season saves leader on her second save of the night. She passed Bri Hawkins, who made 244 saves in 2005, and will enter Sunday’s regular-season finale against Southern California with 253 saves. Stragier’s seventh save of the night also vaulted her into fourth-place on the 49ers’ all-time career list.
The Anteaters’ attack was led by Collyer and junior utility Julia Fancher, who scored two goals apiece. Senior goalkeeper Lauren Machanis made a game-high 11 saves in the cage, including four in the third quarter.
Senior 2-meter Dayna Wawrzynski scored in her 12th consecutive game and led the 49er attack with two goals – including a penalty shot – to run her team-leading, career-high total to 61.
The opening minute of the game may have been a sign of things to come for LBSU. Freshman attacker Kelsie Emerick was whistled for a penalty, and UCI capitalized on the 6-on-5 advantage when Fancher scored just 34 seconds into the contest.
Wawrzynski quickly tied the game 27 seconds later, lobbing a goal over two swarming defenders with 6:59 left in the quarter.
Tied 2-2 in the second, LBSU freshman driver Lauren Sieprath made a steal and raced toward the Anteaters’ goal on a breakaway before a UCI penalty with 3:41 left in the half. That setup Wawrzynski’s penalty shot to give the 49ers a 3-2 lead.
The Anteaters responded with three unanswered goals, including two in the final 2:28 to close the half and tacked on the first goal of the second half with 6:23 left in the third.
Sophomore 2-meter Branwyn Lee cut the UCI lead to 5-4, scoring on a 6-on-5 advantage with 3:03 left in the third, before the Anteaters scored the final two goals.
The 49ers return to the 49er Campus Pool for the final home game of the season against the visiting Women of Troy Sunday at noon.
“It’s do-or-die for us,” von Schwarz said. “We have to play well against SC. The girls are really resilient. This is going to be an emotional loss for them, understandably, but I think that they’ll be ready to play on Sunday. It’s Senior Day – it’s always easy to get up for a home game, especially when it’s your last one.”
