Long Beach State University
8-6
UC Irvine
6-8
No. 12 Long Beach State Falls In Close Contest To No. 10 UC Irvine On Final Day Of Barbara Kalbus Invite
2/25/2024 12:16:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
The Beach finished in 8th place in the Barbara Kalbus Invite in the competitive field.
IRVINE, Calif.- In a back-and-forth defensive battle that saw 20 exclusions and 19 steals for both teams, No. 12 Long Beach State came up just short 11-10 against UC Irvine. The Beach finished in eighth place against a top ranked field as Amanda Price led the team with three goals.
Long Beach State set the tone from the start after Martina Cardona won the sprint that led to an early power play opportunity. Elisa Portillo took advantage of one man up and scored the first goal of the game at 7:15. Lara Luka and Amanda Price each found the back of the cage, but UC Irvine responded with three goals of their own to end the first quarter tied up.
The second quarter was a defensive battle between both teams. Price led the defensive effort with three steals, while Chelsea Oliver had two saves in the cage and only allowed the Anteaters to score one goal. Grace Cuozzo found Amanda Price for her second goal of the game to keep the game tied at 4-4 headed into halftime.
Rachel Kowalchick got the Beach rolling with her first goal of the game to start the third quarter. UC Irvine battled back and added four more goals to the scoreboard. A goal from Kathryn McCullough with 46 seconds left brought the Beach within two heading into the final quarter.
UC Irvine increased their lead by two to start the final quarter before Mariah Walker found the back of the cage. The Beach continued to fight as Amanda Price scored one goal and Martina Cardona added two of her own. The Anteaters would respond with another goal and the Beach comeback would fall short 11-10.
The Beach are back in action next weekend as they are set to compete in the Claremont Convergence. Their first match is on Saturday, March 2 at 9:15 a.m. against Mount St. Mary's, followed by an 1 p.m. match versus Long Island. Fans can follow along at thefosh.net.
Team Stats
Elisa Portillo
7:15
Brooke Hourigan
5:50
Lara Luka
3:52
Gabby Norris
3:14
Gabby Norris
2:12
Amanda Price
0:02
Gabby Norris
3:40
Amanda Price
0:10
Libby Alexander
6:23
Rachael Kowalchick
5:51
Libby Alexander
5:14
Marilynn Hassett
4:23
Airian Grisham
3:26
Kathryn McCullough
0:46
Brooke Hourigan
6:30
Gracie Helberg
5:03
Mariah Walker
4:34
Amanda Price
2:51
Martina Cardona
1:32
Brooke Hourigan
0:54
Martina Cardona
0:28
