May 13, 2012

Follow @UCLAWaterPolo

Notes on the NCAA Tournament | NCAA Tournament Website

SAN DIEGO - Senior goalkeeper Caitlin Dement led the Bruins with 12 saves in the cage as UCLA captured third place in the 2012 NCAA Tournament with a 10-9 victory over UC Irvine at San Diego State's Aztec Aquaplex on Sunday.

UCLA (24-4) got two goals each from seniors Sarah Orozco and Hannah Sebenaler and junior Gisselle Naranjo to end the 2012 season with a victory.

Jessy Cardey, who would score five goals on the day, got UC Irvine (25-8) on the board first with a power play goal (7:05). Orozco tied it at 1-1 on a nice feed from senior KK Clark on a 4-on-2 break (4:42). Sebenaler gave the Bruins their first lead at 2-1 on a deep cross-cage goal with 1:48 left in the first period. But Danielle Warde would tie it at 2-2 on a 2-on-1 counter attack with 55 seconds left, beating Dement, who had come out of her cage to help, with a soft lob over her outstretched hands. Clark gave the Bruins a 3-2 lead at the end of the first period with a top shelf goal from just outside the five with 42 seconds left.

Hannah Croghan knotted it up at 3-3 with a power play goal with 7:21 left in the second period. Then Cardey gave the Anteaters a 4-3 lead, scoring her second goal of the match on a penalty shot. Freshman Erica Beebe tied the match at 4-4 on a shot that found the back of the net at the top left corner, beating Jillian Yocum with 2:28 to go. The Bruins would take a 5-4 lead into the break when Sebenaler scored her second goal of the day with an off-speed shot with 38 seconds left in the second period.

Naranjo pushed the lead to 6-4 (6:09), the Bruins' largest of the day, to open the scoring in the second half. UCLA was called for an offensive foul, and UCI made them pay with a 2-on-1 break that culminated in a goal by Katie Croghan (5:22). The Anteaters would tie the score at 6-6 with Cardey's second penalty shot of the day (4:55). But Naranjo would answer with her second score to make it 7-6 on a power play goal, the Bruins' first of the day with 3:52 left in the third period. Freshman Emily Donohoe pushed the lead back to two goals at 8-6 (3:00) with a tip-in on a loose ball and a mad scramble in front of the goal.

Hillary Estrada cut the Bruins' lead to one on a cross-cage goal from deep with 7:35 left in the fourth period. Junior Emily Greenwood made it 9-7 (6:12) when she scored from two meters on a backhand shot set up by Clark. Cardey then scored her third penalty shot of the day to make it 9-8 UCLA with 5:52 remaining. She then scored her fifth goal of the day to tie it at 9-9 with 3:39 to go. Orozco would score the eventual game-winning goal with 2:44 left on a power play opportunity. But there was still plenty of drama to unfold. With 43 seconds left and the Bruins clinging to a 10-9 lead, UC Irvine drew an exclusion and went on a power play. That's when sophomore Becca Dorst got a huge field block with 25 seconds to go to clinch the 10-9 victory.

Dement registered 12 saves in the cage for the Bruins while Yocum recorded three stops for UC Irvine. The Bruins were just 1-for-4 on power plays while the Anteaters finished the day going 3-for-8.

No. 2-seed UCLA vs. No. 4-seed UC Irvine (NCAA Tournament, Third-Place Match)

UC Irvine Goals: Jessy Cardey 5, Danielle Warde, Hannah Croghan, Katie Croghan, Hillary Estrada
UC Irvine Saves: Jillian Yocum 3

UCLA Goals: Hannah Sebenaler 2, Gisselle Naranjo 2, Sarah Orozco 2, KK Clark, Erica Beebe, Emily Donohoe, Emily Greenwood
UCLA Saves: Caitlin Dement 12