The No. 15 UC Davis women’s water polo team defeated No. 10 Maryland and later handled Fresno Pacific Saturday to extend their winning streak to five games, improving their record to 10-11.
Saturday — UC Davis 8, Maryland 6
The Aggies entered their match-up with the Terrapins not sure what would be coming.
“We haven’t really seen them in a while so we were a bit apprehensive as to what to expect,” said Coach Jamey Wright .
UC Davis was able to settle in, however, led by the standout performance of junior goalkeeper Riane Woods who had a career high of 18 saves.
“I thought [Woods] played a great game. All our goalies played well throughout but she was really solid throughout the game,” Wright
said.
said.
The meet was very tight and low scoring throughout until the Aggies pulled away near the end. Freshmen Elsie Fullerton and junior Jessica Dunn had two goals each to help spur the UC Davis against their highly ranked opponent.
The game was tight until the third quarter when senior Alicia Began scored on a 6-5 advantage to give the Aggies the lead for the rest of the game. The Aggies were able to pull away and win by a final score of 8 to 6.
“We made quick line changes every two minutes because I felt they couldn’t handle our depth”, Wright said.
Saturday — UC Davis 12, Fresno Pacific 5
Half an hour later the Aggies jumped back into the pool to face off against Fresno Pacific.
Half an hour later the Aggies jumped back into the pool to face off against Fresno Pacific.
The Aggies had a hard time scoring early, and the game was tied 3-3 during the second quarter.
Wright then deployed the first team back into the water which is when UC Davis was able to pull away. Dunn and senior Ariel Feeney were both able to score quick goals on counter attacks to give the Aggies a 5-3 lead before halftime.
The second half belonged to the Aggies as junior Carmen Eggert led the Aggie offense to a 10-4 lead. Both Eggert and freshmen Allyson Hansen scored 2 goals in the game aiding the Aggies to a final score of 12-5.
“It was a team on paper we were better than but we still had to come out and play,” Wright said. “It was a game after a big emotional game against Maryland, but we still had to make shots. It was a good lesson for the younger players on the team.”
After taking a break for finals week, the team will head to the Tiger Invitational and face off against Santa Clara and Pacific.
JASON MIN can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
