THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The third and final day of the Ninth Annual Cal Lutheran Invitational at the Samuelson Aquatics Center saw two tough games for the Cal Lutheran women's water polo team as the Regals went 2-4 on the weekend with a pair of wins over Division I and II programs on Friday afternoon, though fatigue and shooting woes set in later in the weekend.
SC def. CLU 12-5
A slow start hurt the Regals in the fifth game of the weekend, falling behind 3-1 in the first frame and 5-2 by the break. A big third quarter for SC swayed the momentum entirely in favor of Santa Clara in the loss. CLU shined at moments, using a stretch of possession with seven consecutive drawn ejections, though the Regals converted just one goal in those situations. Maddie Campbell notched the first goal of the day for CLU with the remaining four goals coming from KC Brendel, Amanda Jones, Tatiana McCuaig and Kristi McGee. Jones and Logan Young each supplied an assist and the team totaled 14 drawn ejections with six from McGee. Defensively, Gina Merry finished with eight saves and a steal while both Young and Maggie Kurzeka grabbed two steals and Brendel and Young each notched a field block. Overall, Cal Lutheran took care of the ball and committed just three turnovers.
CLU def. NOVA 11-8
The final game of the tournament pitted CLU against Villanova in a rematch of the season opener, which went to the Wildcats by a 10-6 margin. Today was, unfortunately, the same result. Nova struck first, but CLU equalized on the ensuing possession. Again the teams exchanged goals, but the visiting Wildcats took a 3-2 first quarter lead. The second stanza saw another goal apiece and the third was the decisive quarter again in the 11-8 loss though CLU staged a late comeback. McCuaig paced the offense with a hat-trick and Nicole Roed scored twice with Jones handing out a trio of assists and McGee adding a pair. Mardell Ramirez drew a team-leading three ejections, adding an assist and three steals. Young led the defensive unit with four steals and a field block with Merry notching seven saves.
Cal Lutheran (3-10) returns to the Samuelson Aquatics Center on Wednesday, March 2 for a 4:00 p.m. first sprint against St. Francis (N.Y.) in non-conference play.
Tournament Central: Second Annual Tina Finali Invitational
CLU Instagram: http://instagram.com/clusports#
CLU Twitter: https://twitter.com/clusports
CLU Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports
