No. 7 Women’s Water Polo Just Short in Loss to No. 4 UC Irvine

Saturday, April 22

Irvine, Calif.

Noon

Long Beach State University

17-7

UC Irvine

17-6

Long Beach State

UC Irvine

Photo by: John Fajardo

No. 7 Women’s Water Polo Just Short in Loss to No. 4 UC Irvine

4/22/2023 1:35:00 PM | Women's Water Polo

Box Score

The Beach season will continue next week at the Big West Championships.

By: Bryan Alamillo, Athletics Communications Assistant

IRVINE, Calif.— In a hard-fought contest that saw multiple lead changes and 20 exclusions between the two teams, No. 7 Long Beach State fell just short in their 11-9 loss to No. 4 UC Irvine.

After two early goals from UC Irvine (17-6, 7-0), both teams locked in for a tough defensive battle in the first quarter. Jamie Oberman brought the Beach within one after an Anteater exclusion, and then leveled the score with just over 30 seconds remaining in the period. Chelsea Oliver had six saves in the quarter to hold UC Irvine to two goals.

After applying pressure early in the second quarter, Rachael Kowalchick found the back of the net to give Long Beach State their first lead of the day, 3-2. Kowalchick would then assist Katie Dill as her goal gave the Beach a two-goal lead. However, UC Irvine would battle back and score two goals to even the score at halftime, 4-4.

The Anteaters opened the third quarter with a goal to take back the lead, but Long Beach State would respond through Mariah Walker and Elisa Portillo to make the score 7-6 in favor of the Beach. UC Irvine would again respond, going on a 3-0 run to end the quarter giving them an 8-6 lead after three periods of play.

After UC Irvine failed to complete a five-meter penalty, Martina Cardona pulled the Beach within one. However, the Anteaters would respond with another goal to extend their lead back to two goals. Elisa Portillo would score her second goal of the day with 3:42 left in the game, but then shortly after got whistled for a penalty foul. UC Irvine would miss the penalty shot but make up for it a goal within a minute of play. Not going down without a fight, Lara Luka put one past the UC Irvine goalkeeper, but the Anteaters would again respond to maintain their two-goal cushion and win the game 11-9.

Saturday's contest sees the Beach conclude regular season play with an overall record of 17-7 and a 5-2 record in conference play. Long Beach State will continue their season next weekend at the Big West Championships in Santa Barbara, where they will be the (3) seed.