IRVINE, Calif. — The second-ranked University of Hawai'i women's water polo team opened a SoCal road trip with a 13-7 win against No. 8 UC Irvine on Friday at the Anteater Aquatic Complex in Irvine, Calif.
The Rainbow Wahine (17-3, 5-0 Big West) never trailed against the Anteaters (14-10, 2-2) and remained undefeated in Big West play.
Junior Bernadette Doyle and senior Lot Stertefeld led the team in scoring with three goals each. Doyle recorded her fourth hat trick of the season and Stertefeld posted her third while also dishing out five assists for a season-high eight points. Freshman Daisy Logtens went the distance at goalie and tallied 10 saves in the match. The final margin was the widest in UH's series with UC Irvine, the defending Big West champion, since the 'Bows' 12-6 win on March 3, 2018.
Doyle started the game with a savvy backhand goal in the front of the net. UC Irvine scored, but the 'Bows responded with goals from Stertefeld and Doyle. The Anteaters netted another goal and Jordan Wedderburn closed the quarter by skipping a goal into the net giving the Rainbow Wahine a 4-2 lead.
UC Irvine scored two goals to begin the second quarter and knotted the game up at 4-4. The 'Bows quickly regained the lead when Bia Mantellato Dias netted a goal on a power-play opportunity. Doyle continued her hot start with another goal to earn her hat trick at the 1:56 mark of the second quarter. Lucia Gomez de la Puente scored with 36 seconds left in the quarter and the Rainbow Wahine went into halftime up 7-4.
The Anteaters opened the second half with a goal, ending UH's 3-0 scoring run. Mantellato Dias drew a foul, and Alba Bonamusa Boix capitalized on the opportunity by converting the penalty shot. The teams traded goals with UH scores from Wedderburn and Mantellato Dias and the 'Bows entered the fourth quarter with a 10-7 lead.
Gomez de la Puente started the fourth with a shot that ricocheted off both posts and into the net to give UH its largest lead of the match. Stertefeld scored two goals in the quarter to earn UH's second hat trick in the match. The Rainbow Wahine did not allow a goal in the fourth quarter to secure the victory and extend their winning streak to five.
The 'Bows continue their road trip at No. 7 Long Beach State on Sunday in a battle for first place in the Big West. The Rainbow Wahine and Beach (19-6, 4-0) enter the matchup as the lone undefeated teams in conference play. The opening sprint is set for noon Pacific Time (9 a.m. Hawai'i time) at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center in Long Beach, Calif. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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