Scoresheet

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 5 University of Hawai'i water polo team (1-0) defeated the No. 10 Pacific Tigers (1-2), 14-9, Friday afternoon at the Campus Pool during the first day of competition at the 2017 UC Santa Barbara Winter Invitational.

Proving to be a force to reckoned with, the Rainbow Wahine put on a scoring display throughout the entire match. After taking the lead early in the first period, the 'Bows never looked back. Taking full advantage of their offensive weapons, eight different Rainbow Wahine found the back of the net this afternoon.

Illustrating her offensive ability, former Big West Freshman (2014) and Player of the Year (2015), redshirt junior Chloe Barr led all scorers with four goals and shot 57 percent in her first game back with the Rainbow Wahine. As a team, the 'Bows finished with an overall 53 percent shooting average on 14-of-26 shots. Junior goal keeper Ymane Hage recorded seven saves in the match.

Hawai'i came out firing early in the first period going up 2-0 on goals by freshman Maartje Keuning and Barr within the first three minutes. Pacific's Kyra Christmas netted her first goal, after an exclusion was drawn. Hawai'i came right back and pushed their lead to 3-1 on a goal by redshirt junior Claire Nixon. Keuning, showing off her offensive skill, pushed their lead even further with her second goal after an exclusion, ending the first period with a 4-1 UH advantage.

The second period saw a back and forth exchanging of goals, with both squads netting four goals each. Determined to get some offense going, Pacific's Karolina Hlavata cut into Hawai'i's lead with two goals in the second, while teammates Aelish Guinn and Rachel Krieger notched one apiece. However, the Rainbow Wahine were not backing down. Hawai'i senior Nikki-Marie Bell netted two goals in the period as well, while sophomore Femke Aan got in on the action, recording her only goal. Nixon notched her second with three seconds left in the half. The Rainbow Wahine ended the first half with an 8-5 lead.

The 'Bows continued their scoring attack in the second half, while Pacific struggled to find an offensive rhythm. To start the third, Barr scored on a penalty shot, pushing Hawai'i's lead to four. With just under two minutes remaining in the third period, sophomore Julia Barton doubled UH's lead at 10-5 with her only goal of the match. Coming out of a timeout, Hawai'i sophomore Carla Abellan found the back of the net for the final goal of the third period. Hawai'i outscored the Tigers 3-0 in the third and ended the period with an 11-5 advantage.

Less than a minute into the fourth period, Barr recorded her third goal, and first hat trick of the season, pushing Hawai'i's lead to seven. Pacific's Christmas netted her second goal of the match on the next possession, cutting the lead in half. Barr, once again, found the back of the net on a penalty shot, recording her final goal of the afternoon. To cap of the offensive attack, Rainbow Wahine redshirt junior Gabi Mantellato netted the final UH goal of the match on a power play, extending UH's lead to 14-6, with five minutes left in the match.

Desperate to overcome the deficit, Pacific went on a 3-0 run via goals from Viktoria Tamas, followed by Hlavata and Christmas, both recording hat tricks of their own. Pacific outscored Hawai'i, 4-3, in the final period, but the Rainbow Wahine came out victorious with a final score of 14-9.

Next up, the 'Bows open the second day of tournament play with an early morning match against Marist on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 8:30 a.m. HT. Later that afternoon, Hawai'i will face No. 11(t) UC San Diego at 3:10 p.m. HT.

Friday, January 20, 2017
Santa Barbara, California (Campus Pool)

Scoring by Quarters
Hawai'i:             4               4               3               3
Pacific:              1               4               0               4
UH Scoring: Chloe Barr 4, Nikki-Marie Bell 2, Maartje Keuning 2, Claire Nixon 2, Femke Aan 1, Carla Abellan 1, Julia Barton 1, Gabi Mantellato 1
Pacific Scoring: Kyra Christmas 3, Karolina Hlavata 3, Aelish Guinn 1, Rachel Krieger 1, Viktoria Tamas 1