Coming off an upsetting overtime loss to conference rival Loyola Marymount, the No. 10 UC Davis women’s water polo team traveled to No. 9 San Jose State hoping to uproot its extra-play exhaustion.
Instead, UC Davis’ overtime woes would only continue.
Deep into the fourth period of overtime, Spartans’ senior hole set Beth Harbert found the back of the cage, and for the second game in a row the Aggies found themselves on the losing side of an extra frame contest, 10-9.
The opportunities have been there, said head coach Jamey Wright, Now we just have to cash them in.
After a 6-1 run gave it 7-6 third-quarter advantage, UC Davis’ buzz was killed by its inability to put away 6-on-5 opportunities.
The Aggies’ impressive nine ejections drawn were muted by only three conversions, including two misses in the overtime periods.
Both teams finished regulation with eight goals and each scored once in the first overtime period. After a scoreless second overtime period, UC Davis and San Jose State moved to a three-minute sudden-death frame.
The Aggies and Spartans went scoreless again, and Harbert scored with 40 seconds remaining in the second sudden-death period.
UC Davis (13-8) was paced offensively by Christi Raycraft, junior Lindsay Kiyama and freshman Dakotah Mohr, who all contributed two goals.
The loss drops the Aggies to 3-4 this season in one-goal contests.
We know what it feels like to play close games, Wright said. I would rather play 10 close games against good teams than have a better record and have played lots of five- or six-goal games.
Although the Aggies were disappointed from their second-straight overtime defeat, they are still confident in their ability to be successful in the future.
I don’t look at these as two bad losses, said Wright. I look at them as great opportunities to play two good top-ten teams. It’s obvious we can hang with these teams, and we know what we have to work on now. These losses have only made us stronger and more prepared for the future.
The Aggies enjoy a two-week break for finals before hosting Brown on Mar. 28.
SAMMY BRASCH can be reached at sports@californiaaggie.com.
