Game summaries
LA JOLLA, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay water polo team earned another split on the second day of the Triton Invitational, defeating Maryland, 13-11, to take 11th place in the 16-team tournament. The Pioneers (4-5, 2-2 WWPA) fell to No. 12 UC Santa Barbara, 9-2, in Sunday's first game before edging the Terps with a pair of goals in the final three minutes. East Bay finished the tournament with a 2-2 record and 42 goals.
In a very physical game the Pioneers took a 4-2 lead in the first quarter before Maryland bounced back to score four in the second, while allowing three Cal State East Bay goals to cut the lead to 7-6 at the half. East Bay reversed the scoring in the third period, putting up four goals to the Terps' three.
Leading 11-9 heading into the fourth quarter, the Pioneers gave up two Maryland goals to start the fourth, tying things up at 11 apiece with three minutes remaining. The Pioneers responded with a pair of goals in the final three minutes to pick up the 13-11 victory.
Claire Pierce paced East Bay for the third time this weekend, posting three goals. Sophomore
Chelsie Bryan notched her first goal of the season, joining
Erica Crain,
Tristan Kennedy-Donohue and
Liz Warren with a pair of goals each.
Whitney Bell and
Sarah Grunberger added a goal apiece to round out the scoring for East Bay. Goalie
Jayme Pekarske made six saves in the win.
In the early game, Cal State East Bay met No. 12 UC Santa Barbara for the second time this season. The Gauchos held the Pioneers to their lowest goal total of the season, shutting them out in both the second and fourth quarters. Bell and Grunberger scored East Bay's only goals in the loss, while Pekarske made seven saves.
The Pioneers finished the weekend with a 2-3 record after facing No. 17 UC San Diego on Friday night and a pair of ranked squads in the tournament. Pierce capped the week with a team-leading 14 goals, including a seven-goal performance in the 21-8 victory over Cal State Bakersfield. Grunberger added nine goals for East Bay, while Pekarske finished with 43 saves in five games, including 12 stops against UCSD.
Cal State East Bay returns to action next weekend when it plays host to Santa Clara in WWPA action at Pioneer Pool. The Pioneers and Broncos are set to get underway on Feb. 19 at 12 p.m.
