Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
UC Davis
Long Beach State Again Back In Big West Championship Final After Defeating UC Davis, 12-10
4/11/2026 5:59:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
Elisa Portillo and Chiara Amoroso combined for seven goals to lead the Beach offense.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – No. 2 seed Long Beach State battled until the last minute against No. 3 seed UC Davis to secure their third straight Big West Championship final after a 12-10 win at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center.
UC Davis (15-13) got on the board quickly, scoring on a backhand. Long Beach State (17-10) had the chance to tie on a five meter, but saw Eva Stein come up big and make the stop. Elisa Portillo sneaked in on two counterattacks to score and put the Beach ahead in the first period, 2-1.
The Aggies tied the game early in the second before Daniela Quinzada put the Beach ahead once again. UCD added a penalty shot to tie the game once again, 3-3, but a 3-0 run by LBSU, after back-to-back goals from Lucy Miszewski, forced a timeout by UC Davis. Portillo added her third of the day on a power play before the Aggies added a buzzer-beater from Chelsea Johnson to close the gap, trailing 7-4 at half.
A strong second half start by the Beach, scoring two goals in under one minute of play, extended the lead to 9-4. Both teams traded goals before Johnson led the Aggies to close the third period with a 3-0 run to cut the margin to 10-8 with eight minutes left in the game.
Continuing their momentum, the Aggies closed the gap with Johnson's fourth of the game, 10-9. Amoroso's third of the day kept the Beach up by two with 4:38 left. UCD never stopped fighting, scoring another one with Lillie Velhig, 11-10.
A backhand goal by Daniela Quinzada, followed by two back-to-back field blocks from Miszewski and Rita Gurri, sealed the win for the Beach and another chance to fight for the Big West title.
Ball drops at 2 p.m. against the No. 1 seed Hawai'i live on ESPN+, with live stats available through TheFOSH.net.
