Game 1 scoresheet | Game 2 scoresheet

DAVIS, Calif. - Following Friday's win over Sonoma State, the Cal State East Bay water polo team earned a split in two games at the Aggie Shootout in Davis on Saturday to finish 2-1 on the weekend. The Pioneers (10-7, 6-2 WWPA) were edged by the host, No. 15 UC Davis, 12-8, in game one before toppling conference foe Santa Clara, 11-7, in the nightcap.

In the game against the Aggies, East Bay's sixth nationally-ranked opponent of the season, the Pioneers hung with UCD, never trailing by more than three goals in the first half. After Davis opened the scoring at the 5:59 mark in the first quarter, CSUEB answered back with an advantage goal from Carly Clark to tie things up at one. The Aggies closed out the first period with a pair of goals to take a 3-1 lead into the second.

Claire Pierce scored her first of eight goals on the day with 6:43 left in the second quarter, cutting the UCD lead back to one, 3-2. After a three minute scoring drought, the Aggies regained a two-goal advantage with a goal from Ashley Chandler with 3:39 left in the first half. Whitney Bell answered right back less than a minute later for East Bay, pulling the Pioneers back within one, 4-3. UC Davis again closed out the half with a pair of goals, including a penalty shot that Carmen Eggert converted with just 39 seconds left to give Davis a 6-3 lead at the break.

The Aggies built on their halftime momentum with three straight goals to open the third quarter and take a 9-3 lead with 4:48 remaining in the period. Bell was the Pioneers' first scorer of the second half, putting away her second of three in the game with 1:08 left to cut the UCD lead to five, 9-4. Tristan Kennedy-Donohue ended the quarter with a goal with just 31 seconds left to send the game into the fourth with Davis leading 9-5.

The Aggies needed just over a minute to regain a five-goal advantage to start the fourth quarter, as Eggert put away her third to put Davis up 10-5 with 6:51 left to play. Ariel Feeney increased the Aggie lead to six, 11-5, at the 5:56 mark. The Pioneers responded just four seconds later, getting an advantage goal from Pierce to pull back within five. Sarah Grunberger followed with her first goal of the game to cut the lead to 11-7 with 2:36 left to play.

Though their lead was down to four again, the Aggies remained calm, scoring one more insurance goal with 2:01 left to play to take a 12-7 lead. The Pioneers notched a final goal, as Bell completed the hat trick with a man-advantage to cut the lead back to four with 1:32 left, but it was not enough to overcome UC Davis.

Bell paced the Pioneers in game one with three goals, while Pierce added a pair and goalie Jayme Pekarske made 11 saves. Eggert led the Aggies with a hat trick of her own and was joined by Feeney and Kaylee Miller as the three UCD players scoring multiple goals.

Against the Broncos, East Bay wasted no time getting out to a 3-0 lead early on. Danielle Comforti opened scoring, while Pierce posted a pair of goals in the first quarter. The Broncos were held without a goal in the opening period, giving CSUEB a 3-0 lead to start the second.

A low-scoring second period saw Santa Clara get on the board with 6:33 remaining, getting an advantage goal from Caitlin Espe to cut the Pioneer lead to 3-1. East Bay responded with back-to-back goals to close out the half, getting two goals from Bell, including an even-strength score with just four seconds left to give the Pioneers a 5-1 advantage at the break.

East Bay wasted no time getting started after the half, getting a goal from Pierce just 18 seconds into the third quarter to increase its lead to five goals. A Bronco goal at the 6:56 mark made it 6-2 before Erica Crain put the Pioneers back up by five, 7-2, scoring with 5:12 left in the third quarter. A goal from Santa Clara's Jenny Anderson cut the lead back to four, but East Bay answered back again with a goal from Pierce with a player-advantage and 1:45 left in the half to give the Pioneers an 8-3 lead. The Broncos closed out the quarter with a score 45 seconds later to pull back within four heading into the final period.

After drawing a penalty less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Santa Clara's Taylor Harkins converted on the shot to cut the East Bay lead to just three, 8-5, for the first time since the second period.The Pioneers responded with back-to-back goals from Pierce to regain a five-goal lead, 10-5, with 5:53 left to play. Though the Broncos scored with 3:12 remaining, East Bay shut down the SCU offense for the remainder and added an insurance goal from Grunberger to capture the victory.

Pierce finished the game with six goals, including two player-advantage conversions, to put her Saturday total at eight. Bell added another pair for the Pioneers to finish the day with five scores. Pekarske made another 10 stops in the victory to finish the day with 21 saves. Espe led the Broncos with a pair of goals.

The Pioneers have now won seven of their last 10 games and five straight against WWPA opponents.

Cal State East Bay returns to action next weekend, when it plays host to both Cal State Monterey Bay and Fresno Pacific on Saturday, Mar. 12. The Pioneers and Otters are set to meet at 10 a.m., followed by a matchup with the Sunbirds at 3 p.m. at Pioneer Pool.