Claremont, Calif. - Sophomore Sarah Westcott (Menlo Park, Calif. - pictured) had four goals, including three straight late in the game, to give the Pomona-Pitzer Women's Water Polo team a 9-8 win over Cal Baptist and a split on the first day of the Claremont Convergence.
The Sagehens also fell in their first match of the day to UC Irvine 17-7, despite five goals from sophomore Alyssa Woodward (Riverside, Calif.). With the split, the Sagehens move to 4-6 on the year.
The Cal Baptist game was close throughout with neither team holding more than a two-goal lead throughout. The Sagehens took a 5-3 lead into the break on a Woodward goal with 1:03 left in the second quarter, and also led 6-4 after sophomore Vicky Gyorffy (Sacramento, Calif.) scored with 4:45 left in the third.
Cal Baptist, though, was able to hurt the Sagehens on the counter, leaking behind for three straight goals to take a 7-6 lead with 1:28 left in the third. Wescott responded with the tying goal with 57 seconds left in the third to make the score 7-7 heading into the final period.
Westcott then extended her personal 3-0 run with a pair of goals 49 seconds apart, breaking the tie with 7:16 to play and then lobbing in a pretty shot from deep over goalie Meghan Rowland with 6:27 to go to make the score 9-7.
That score held until 1:51 remained, when Samantha Banks scored for Cal Baptist to bring the Lancers within 9-8. Westcott nearly tacked on a fifth goal to seal it, but hit the underside of the crossbar and the ball bounced down onto the goal line. However, Woodward came up with a big steal on the next possession, and the Lancers threatened in the closing seconds but were unable to get the tying shot off as the Sagehens held on.
Senior goalie Sarah Tuggy (Los Angeles, Calif.) had 11 saves, several from point-blank range, to help Pomona-Pitzer to the win. Rowland had 10 saves for the Lancers.
Earlier in the day, Michaela Pierandozzi had four goals to lead UC Irvine to the 17-7 win. Woodward scored three of her match-high goals on five-meter shots, including one that had the Sagehens within 6-3 with 3:17 left in the half, but the Anteaters scored five of the next six goals to seal it. Tuggy had 14 saves for Pomona-Pitzer in that one.
Pomona-Pitzer will be back in action tomorrow when it faces Concordia (Irvine) at 11:40 a.m. and Long Beach State at 5 p.m.
