Game 1 box | Game 2 box

LA JOLLA, Calif. - The Cal State East Bay water polo team earned a split on the first day of the Triton Invitational, falling to Loyola Marymount, 19-3, before topping Santa Clara, 6-3, on Saturday. The Pioneers (3-3) struggled against a tough Lions squad, but bounced back and picked up their first win in the last three meetings with the Broncos, dating back to last season.

Against LMU, one of 12 Division I schools competing in the tournament, the Pioneers were held without a goal in the opening quarter. Meanwhile, the Lions posted five goals in the first period to take a 5-0 lead. Though the Pioneers got the first of two goals in the game from Carly Clark in the second period, Loyola Marymount maintained its pace, scoring another five before the half to take a 10-1 advantage into the break.

The Lions added another six in the third period while holding the Pioneers scoreless for the second time. Trailing 16-1, East Bay finally managed a multiple goal period in the final quarter. Clark and Sara Hudyn made it 18-3, but it was too little, too late, as LMU tacked on one more goal to earn the win. 

In the second game of the day, the Pioneers opened scoring with back-to-back goals from Erica Crain before the Broncos pulled back to send the game into the second period with East Bay leading 2-1. Kate McAfee and Crain were the only scorers in the second quarter, helping the Pioneers take a 4-1 advantage into the half. 

Santa Clara ended an 11-minute scoring drought to open scoring in the third quarter and cut the East Bay lead to two, 4-2, with 5:02 to play in the period. The Pioneers answered with Clark's third goal of the day, but the Broncos added a second goal to pull back within two, 5-3, heading into the final quarter. In the lowest scoring period of the game, Clark was the only scorer, putting the Pioneers up 6-3, with four minutes remaining. East Bay then drew three straight Santa Clara ejections to finish the game and pick up the win.

Clark finished the day with four goals to lead the Pioneers, while Crain notched three goals in the win over Santa Clara, including the game winner. 

With the win over the Broncos, the Pioneers move on to face Cal State Bakersfield on Sunday at 10:40 a.m. The Roadrunners fell to Arizona State before upsetting UC San Diego on Saturday. The winner of the morning matchup will move on to face the winner of Long Beach State and Hartwick for ninth place at 5:20 p.m.. The losers of the two games will meet for 11th place at 4 p.m.