Lauren Martin’s four goals weren’t enough for No. 13 UC Santa Barbara to beat No. 4 Cal, as the Golden Bears took a 9-8 overtime decision at Campus Pool in the first game of the UCSB Women’s Water Polo Invitational.
Brenna Thomas added a pair of goals and Bryn Hudson and Miranda Schrader scored one goal apiece, while Hudson also paced the team with three assists.
At 2:22 into the third quarter, the Gauchos took a 4-3 lead on a power-play goal by Hudson in front of the cage.
The seesaw nature of the game continued with Cal evening the score at the 4:10 mark. Martin followed with a backhand scoring shot to put her team back up at 5-4. Martin’s goal came after she lost her usual no. 4 cap in the pool and was wearing no. 16 in its place. The senior scored all four of her goals with the no. 16 cap.
Cal would have the final say in the quarter, as Stephanie Mutafyan found the back of the net on a long shot with one second left for a 5-5 tie.
The Gauchos quickly took the lead back in fourth quarter thanks again to Martin. The senior first drew an exclusion foul to give UCSB a power play, and she wound up scoring following a nice entry pass from Taylor Shore.
With the scored tied at 7-7, Brokaw stopped Cal from taking a late-game lead with strong block of a swift turnaround shot from Sierra Smiley. UCSB called a timeout after the clutch save and set up a play for a goal and an 8-7 lead. This time, Murphy found Martin down low for the goal with 1:58 left.
The Gauchos nearly held off Cal’s offense down the stretch, but Carrega got the equalizer for the Bears with seven seconds left.
The first overtime period featured no goals, but the Bears found the game-winner at the 1:31 mark in the second extra period. On the play, Kindred Paul found Genevieive Weed and she beat the goalie with an outside shot.
UCSB will be back in action Saturday to play Cal Baptist at 12:30 p.m. at Campus Pool and No. 2 UCLA at 6 p.m. at the Rec Center.