SAN DIEGO – The Loyola Marymount women’s water polo team defeated the UCLA Bruins 5-4 in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championship at the Aztec Aquaplex in San Diego on Friday. LMU ended UCLA’s run of five consecutive NCAA titles.
The Lions will play USC Saturday in the semifinal at 5:45 p.m. Updated stats and game results, as well as a live webcast will be available at the San Diego State website. The Lions were seeded sixth to UCLA’s third but dominated the play after the first quarter, which ended with UCLA leading 3-2. LMU scored twice in the second quarter and held the Bruins scoreless. LMU tied it at 3-3 in the second quarter as Daisy Carrillo scored on a penalty shot with 3 minutes left in the second quarter. The Lions scored on a 6-on-5 exclusion goal by Mary Ann Campos to take a 4-3 lead that they never relinquished. LMU tallied its third-straight goal with just over 3 minutes left in the third period as Erin Manke scored her 31st goal of the year. That made the score 5-3, and Manke’s goal would be the winning margin. LMU goalie Kristine Cato picked up four stops in the third period to blank UCLA for the second straight quarter. UCLA struggled for most of the match with their power-play, failing to convert on their first six opportunities. Cato starred, making three stops from point-blank range. UCLA scored with 1:22 left, cutting the lead to 5-4. But a game-tying shot went wide left as LMU sealed the upset and notched their first win over UCLA in 16 tries. ### |