UCSB dropped its Big West Conference women’s water polo opener to No. 5 UC Irvine, 6-4, despite 13 saves by goalkeeper Mackenzie Brokaw.
The Gauchos (12-13, 0-1) scored the only goal of the first quarter at the 4:43 mark when junior Bryn Hudson skipped a shot past UCI (14-6, 1-0) goalkeeper Jilliam Yocum. It was Hudson’s 12th goal of the season.
The Anteaters tied the score at 1-1 early in the second quarter when Danielle Warde scored the first of her four goals. The tally came at the 6:15 mark, but just 13 seconds later, with 6:02 left before halftime, Brenna Thomas gave UCSB a 2-1 lead when she scored her 17th goal of the year.
The lead didn’t last long as Warde scored again less than a minute later, squaring the score at 2-2. UCI took its first lead of the match just before the halfway mark of the second quarter when Cambria Shockley floated one over Brokaw’s outstretched arm. The score remaind 3-2 at half.
Warde notched her third goal just 1:17 into the third quarter, giving the Anteaters a 4-2 advantage.
Miranda Schrader’s 17th goal of the year closed the gap to 4-3 with 1:24 left in the third, but UCI’s Kelsey Thornton responded with just under a minute to play to make the sscore 5-3 at the end of three quarters.
Warde’s final goal came at the 6:11 mark in the fourth, pushing the lead to 6-3. The Gauchos’ Camila Schafer scored her team-leading 34th goal of the campaign with 23 ticks left on the clock, making the final score 6-4.
UCSB returns to Big West action when it travels to Hawai’i for a match on April 4.
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