HONOLULU – The No. 5 University of Hawai`i women's water polo team (6-4, 2-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) finished fourth in the UC Irvine Invitational at the Anteater Aquatics Complex, dropping two matches against No. 1 Stanford, 10-5 and No. 4 UCLA, 7-6.
The Rainbow Wahine began the match with a 2-0 lead over the Cardinal in the opening quarter with goals by seniors
Leonie Van Der Molen and
Saara Majuri. Stanford answered back in the second quarter with a three-goal run, and held on for a 3-2 advantage over UH by halftime.
The Cardinal went on another five-point scoring run in the third quarter until senior
Dagmar Genee found the net with 1:45 left. With a 8-3 lead over UH, Stanford scored another to begin the final quarter but UH answered back with a goal by freshman
Danielle Lewis.
Stanford secured a 10-4 lead over UH with 4:40 left, freshman
Kelly McKee scored the final goal of the match for the Rainbow Wahine, but UH couldn't come back. The Cardinal won the match 10-5.
UH faced UCLA for the tournament's third place title. The Bruins held a 2-1 lead in the first half, with McKee putting in a goal for the Rainbow Wahine with 12 seconds left. On a 6-on-5 play,
Amarens Genee tied the score in the second quarter, 2-2.
However, UCLA answered quickly with a goal, taking the lead back 3-2 only to have the match tied again with a goal by Van Der Molen. The Bruins muscled in two more to take the lead 5-3 at halftime.
With little action in most of the third quarter,
Dagmar Genee kept UH in the game, 5-4 scoring with just 50 seconds left of play. The Bruins answered back again with 45 seconds left, earning a 6-4 advantage going into the last quarter.
Both teams rallied back and forth in the final quarter. Goals by McKee and
Carmen Eggens tied the score 6-6, but the Bruins scored with 3:29 left and held on for a 7-6 victory.
McKee led the Rainbow Wahine, scoring two of UH's six goals.
UH will next see action at the San Diego State Invitational in San Diego, Calif. from March 12-13.
Scoring By Quarters
UH 2 0 1 2 = 5
STAN 0 3 5 2 = 10
Scoring By Quarters
UH 1 2 1 2 = 6
UCLA 2 3 1 1 = 7
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