Scoresheet

HONOLULU – The sixth-ranked University of Hawai'i women's water polo team fell to No. 1 UCLA, 6-11, Friday night at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatics Complex. UH drops to an 11-7, 1-1 Big West record.

The Rainbow Wahine put up a tough fight against the Bruins in the second half, but were unable to recover after UCLA posted a 5-1 advantage in the second quarter. Junior Paula Chillida Esforzado led UH with two goals, while UCLA's Rachel Fattal netted a match-high four.

After a quiet start in the first quarter, senior Zoe Respondek scored the first goal of the night with 2:47 on the clock but Fattal quickly responded for the Trojans to tie it 1-1. Within the first minute of the second quarter, Claire Nixon launched one in clean past the Bruins' defense from over five-meters out with UH's shot clock possession winding down to its final seconds for a 2-1 lead. However, the Bruins exploded for five back-to-back goals to foot a commanding 6-2 lead by halftime.

The Bruins stretched their advantage to 7-0 after adding two more goals to start the third quarter. Senior Caity Lopes da Silva finally put a stop to UCLA's run after floating one past the Bruins' goalie, inching UH back, 3-8. The Bruins answered back once again for a 9-3 lead, but after UH drew back-to-back exclusions on UCLA, Paula Chillida Esforzado nailed in a power-play goal off the bar to bring back the Rainbow Wahine, 4-9 at the end of the third.

Sophomore Chloe Barr skipped in a goal off the 6-on-5 advantage after UCLA's Kodi Hill was excluded just one-minute in to the final period. However, the Bruins responded shortly after with their own power-play goal for a 10-5 lead. Chillida Esforzado converted another 6-on-5 for UH from five-meters out to cut the Bruins' lead down to four points, but the Rainbow Wahine ran out of time as Emily Donohoe scored UCLA's final goal to win it 11-6 with 41 seconds remaining.

UH will host an exhibition rematch against the Brazilian National Team on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatics Complex.
 
Scoring By Quarters
UH - 1 1 2 2 = 6
UCLA - 1 5 3 2 = 11
 
UH Scoring: Chillida Esforzado 2, Barr 1, Respondek 1, da Silva 1, Nixon 1
UCLA Scoring: Fattal 4, Forster 2, Donohoe 3, Williams 1, Pratt 1
 
UH Saves: Hage 4, Logan 2
UCLA Saves: Hill 7