It was a good day for women’s UCSB water polo on Saturday as the No. 16 Gauchos (14-10) won a pair of games against Iona (6-5) and Bucknell (8-9). The Gauchos faced Iona in the first game of the day at 12 pm and pulled out a win, 7-6. A couple hours later, UCSB came out guns blazing when they beat Bucknell, 14-4.
The Gaels came out fresh in the morning as they scored the first goal of the game within the first thirty seconds. Junior Katie Zakula responded for the first of many Gaucho goals of the day. Iona scored two more goals toward the end of the quarter and they left the quarter leading 3-1.
The Gauchos scored the only two goals of the second quarter. Zakula scored her second goal of the same about halfway through the quarter, and junior Shelby Haroldson scored the second with three minutes left on the clock. The clock of the first half dwindled down, and the score was left tied 3-3.
Iona sunk the first goal of the second half past the Gaucho defense. An Iona player injured freshman Lauren Martin toward the end of the quarter, and that fired the Gauchos up. Junior Rachel Nelson scored with about a minute left in the quarter, and after the Gaels snuck one in, Iona would take the lead, 5-4.
The Gauchos came out with vengeance in the fourth as Zakula scored her hat trick goal in the beginning of the last quarter. The UCSB streak continued as Haroldson scored for the second time in the game, and sophomore Molly Hafferkamp sank the last Gaucho goal of the game past Iona goalie, Marisa Gaynor. With only one more goal scored by Iona it was not enough to close the gap. The Gauchos took the victory, 7-6.
The Gauchos kept up the streak when they played Bucknell at 4 pm. The Gauchos had an unanswered 12-goal streak in the first three quarters, due to the outstanding Gaucho defense, and of course UCSB’s goalie, junior Ruth Milne.
In the first quarter, UCSB freshman Claryann Olofsson-Loo scored in the first thirty seconds kicking off the goal-run. Freshman Bernadette Bevins scored the next goal for the Gauchos, along with two more later on in the quarter, obtaining a hat trick solely in the first quarter. Nelson and Zakula both posted goals in the first quarter and UCSB took a giant lead, 6-0.
Bucknell’s defense kept UCSB scoreless for the about the first half of the quarter, but that did not last long due to senior Elle Quane putting it past the Bison defense. Bevins struck again as she sank her fourth goal of the game into the back of the Bison’s net. UCSB pulled further away as they ended the quarter unanswered, 8-0.
Within the first minute of the second half, Zakula scored her fifth goal of the day. Haroldson scored her first goal of this game with three minutes left in the quarter. Freshman Frankie Puerzer scored her first goal as a Gaucho in the third, and junior Bryce Winton ended the quarter with a goal, Gauchos indefinitely in the lead, 12-0.
Bucknell scored their first goal of the game off a penalty shot scored by Julianne Valedes. They snuck another one past the Gaucho defense, and again off another penalty shot scored. Winton scored her second goal of the game, and Puerzer’s second goal closed the game. The Gauchos proudly took the victory 14-4.
The Gauchos will be back in action on Sunday, March 25th at 12 pm at Campus Pool against No. 2 Stanford.
No. 16 UCSB vs. Iona
UCSB… 1 2 1 3 — 7
Iona… 3 0 2 1 — 6
No. 16 UCSB vs. Bucknell
UCSB… 6 3 4 1 — 14
Bucknell… 0 0 0 4 — 4
