Krizia Cerda and Melissa Matheson both scored a pair of goals, but the No. 6-seeded Long Beach State women’s water polo team’s postseason run through the Big West Conference tournament ended Sunday in an 11-5 loss to No. 1 UC Irvine in the championship game.
With the win, the Anteaters — who remained undefeated during Big West play this season — will receive automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament to be held in Michigan in two weeks. The win also marked UCI’s third consecutive tournament title in the three years of its existence.
Big West tournament MVP Cortney Collyer led the way for the Anteaters with a game-high four goals.
LBSU fell behind early as the Anteaters took a 2-0 lead in just over a minute, while the 49ers cut the lead to one with a goal from Coriann Snyder.
However, a goal from Cortney Collyer — her second of the period — gave UCI a 3-1 advantage.
The Anteaters added to their lead with three unanswered goals before Krizia Cerda converted a penalty shot just before the end of the half, cutting the deficit to 6-2 at the break.
Nonetheless, the deficit would be too large for The Beach to overcome as UCI scored five goals to the 49ers’ three in the second half to capture the conference title.
Despite the loss, LBSU’s runner-up finish is the best finish for the 49ers in the three seasons of the Big West tournament. The 49ers close the season with a 14-17 overall record.
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