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HAYWARD, Calif. -- Cal State East Bay's Brandi Carroll netted a hat trick in overtime to clinch the Pioneers' 12-9 victory Saturday over Sonoma State in the semifinals of the 2016 WWPA Championships at Chabot College. The win advances the Pioneers to championship game Sunday, when they will battle #1 seed and defending champion UC San Diego for the WWPA title.

It was expected to be a tight affair Saturday between East Bay and Sonoma State, and the game lived up to that billing in front of an outstanding crowd of more than 200 on a sunny day at Chabot. It was an intense contest between two teams that had split their first two meetings of the year.

The Seawolves came out firing early, as they got a 2-0 lead before the Pioneers answered back with four unanswered goals to take a 4-3 lead after the first quarter. Sabrina Hatzer had two of the goals, and Tori Dettloff and Rocio Fesembeck also found the back of the cage.

Both teams would continue the fast scoring pace in the second, but this time the Seawolves got four goals compared to the Pioneers' three to make 7-7 heading to the half. Hatzer completed the hat trick in the first half with another goal.

The defense picked up in the third, as the teams totaled just three goals in the period. Neither team could manage to gain enough momentum to pull away, as they continued to trade scores. Hatzer scored her fourth, and Olivia Mackell got in the goal column at 1:35 to put the Pioneer up by one heading into the final quarter.

There was one goal scored in the fourth, and it was by the Seawolves' Noelle Herrera with 1:31 remaining to make it 9-9. Both squads had a chance to win the game in the final minute, but the defenses held and the match would head to overtime.

The Pioneer faithful in attendance brought tremendous energy to the pool, particularly when Carroll and the Pioneers asserted control of the game in overtime. She scored once in the first overtime period and twice in the second, including a five-meter penalty shot. When the final horn sounded, the East Bay bench celebrated a hard-fought win and the team's third straight trip to the conference finals. 

Hatzer's four goals led the way for Pioneers, giving her seven for the tournament. Casey Rushforth led the Pioneers with four assists and now has six in two days. Olivia Mackell recorded three assists and Fesembeck dished out two.

Taylor Cross led the Pioneers with three steals. Rushforth, Mackell, and Dettloff all had two takeaways.

Nikki Vaughan was outstanding in the cage for CSUEB, playing all 38 minutes. She tallied 11 saves, including two on penalty shots, and held the Seawolves scoreless for six minutes of overtime. 

Sunday's championship will be the third meeting of the season between Cal State East Bay and UC San Diego. The Tritons took both games, winning 11-5 on Feb. 12 and 8-3 on April 3. This will be the third consecutive season the two teams have met in the WWPA championship. The Tritons took the previous two championship matches.

First sprint between East Bay and UCSD will take place Sunday at 1:30 P.M.