Scoresheet | WWPA Tournament Central

LA JOLLA, Calif. – The fourth-seeded Cal State East Bay water polo team won its first round WWPA Tournament game for the second straight year, eking out an 11-10 win over No. 5 seed Santa Clara to open the championship run on Friday. The Pioneers (18-11) held off a strong Bronco push in the final quarter to pick up their third win of the season over SCU and advance to tomorrow's semifinal against the winner of today's nightcap between No. 1 Loyola Marymount and No. 8 Colorado State.

East Bay fell behind early as the Broncos opened scoring just over a minute into the game with a goal from Claire Eadington. Though the Pioneers tied things up, 1-1, thanks to a goal from Erica Crain with 6:33 remaining in the first quarter, Santa Clara turned up the defense to hold East Bay scoreless for the remainder of the quarter. Meanwhile, the Broncos added another pair of goals, including a 6-on-5 score to take a 3-1 lead into the second frame.

During a physical second quarter, the two teams combined for six ejections, starting the period off with five straight kickouts before the Pioneers took advantage of Santa Clara's third ejection. Carly Clark made it a one-goal game with a 6-on-5 score with 4:16 left in the half, ending East Bay's 10-minute scoring drought and cut the Bronco lead to one. Crain followed with her second goal of the game less than a minute later to pull the Pioneers even, 3-3, with just over three minutes to play. After another Santa Clara kickout and an East Bay timeout, Clark gave the Pioneers their first lead just two seconds after the two teams were even again. With the goal, Cal State East Bay took a 4-3 lead into the half after shutting out the Broncos in the second quarter.

The advantage was short-lived, however, as Eadington scored her second goal just 19 seconds in the second half to draw even, 4-4. East Bay countered with a goal from Claire Pierce less than a minute later, though, regaining a one-goal lead 5-4, with 6:48 left in the quarter. Two quiet minutes later, Sara Hudyn gave the Pioneers their largest lead of the game. Santa Clara was quick to answer this time, cutting the lead back to one goal, 6-5, with 3:30 to play. Crain closed out scoring in the quarter with her third goal to put the Pioneers up 7-5 going into what would be an action-packed final quarter.

Crain opened scoring in the fourth with a goal at the 7:24 mark to give East Bay its first three-goal lead of the game, 8-5. Back-to-back ejections for the Pioneers gave Santa Clara a 6-on-4 situation, which they took advantage of just one second in, getting a goal from Norris to cut the lead back to two, 8-6, with 6:55 to go. Kate McAfee pushed the lead back to three with a goal just 16 seconds later but the rapid-fire scoring continued as the Broncos cut the advantage back to two, 9-7, with 6:23 left to play. The Broncos made it two in a row after drawing a penalty, which Eadington converted to make it a 9-8 game midway through the quarter.

The Pioneers answered with a 6-on-5 goal from Sophie Armstrong, taking a 10-8 lead with 4:16 remaining. The Broncos would not be suppressed, however, as they scored back-to-back goals, including a player-advantage goal with just over two minutes remaining, to tie things up 10-10. The two teams looked set to head to overtime before Eadington was kicked out with 1:20 remaining. Following a Pioneer timeout, Clark took advantage of the 6-on-5 opportunity, giving East Bay an 11-10 lead with 1:07 to play. Despite a late ejection, the Pioneers held on to claim the victory and advance to tomorrow's semifinals.

Crain finished the game with four goals, including one 6-on-5 score, while Clark scored the game winner and finished with three goals. Hudyn, Pierce, Armstrong and McAfee each added a goal apiece for East Bay. The Pioneers only converted on three of their 10 player-advantage chances, but made the most of two of those opportunities in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning goal.

Jayme Pekarske postd 17 saves in goal for the Pioneers, who won their opening round game for the second time since joining the WWPA in 2005. East Bay also got revenge for last year's loss to the Broncos in the third-place game at the 2011 WWPA Tournament.

Cal State East Bay now moves on to face the winner of No. 1 LMU and No. 8 Colorado State, who will meet at 6 p.m. in La Jolla. The Lions enter the game with a 17-9 overall record and a perfect 10-0 mark against conference opponents, while the Rams opened the tournament with a 12-8 win over No. 9 Cal State San Bernardino to improve to 7-20 on the year.

East Bay's semifinal tomorrow is set for a 3 p.m. first sprint at Canyonview Aquatic Center in La Jolla, with the winner of the game advancing to Sunday's WWPA Championship and the loser moving on to the third place game. Check back here or visit WWPA Tournament Central for updated results and schedules as the weekend progresses.