USC Wins UCI Invite; MPSF Kicks-Off
Feb. 24, 2014
MPSF Women's Water Polo Release 7
USC (12-0 Overall, 0-0 MPSF) stayed unbeaten with four wins at the UC Irvine Invitational, its second straight title at that location. The Trojans defeated Bakersfield 21-1 and Northridge, 12-5 on the first day, before a semifinal win over California, 12-7, and title game win over UCLA in overtime, 7-6. Eike Daube scored a hat trick in the semifinal, and went on to score twice in the second overtime for a comeback win in the finals. Stephania Haralabidis was the team's top scorer in the invitational with 10 goals, including four in the semifinal. The Trojans' MPSF opener is Saturday at Arizona State.
UCLA (15-2 Overall, 0-0 MPSF) upset Stanford, 9-6, in the semifinals to reach the UCI Invitational title game. Emily Donohoe accumulated six tournament goals, scoring in each game, while Mackenzie Barr added five. The Bruins earned two wins on day one over San Diego State 7-1, and UC San Diego, 8-6. Next up is a visit to Loyola Marymount Saturday.
STANFORD (10-1 Overall, 0-0 MPSF) won three of four games at UC Irvine, defeating Pacific 11-3, Arizona State, 11-10, and California, 14-8, in the third-place game. Maggie Steffens delivered four goals in the bronze win, followed by Anna Yelizarova with three. The Cardinal head to San Jose State Saturday for the MPSF opener.
CALIFORNIA (13-3 Overall, 0-0 MPSF) placed fourth in Irvine with wins over UCSB, 10-4, and the host UCI, 12-6.
ARIZONA STATE (9-4 Overall, 0-0 MPSF) posted UCI Invitational wins over San Jose State, 15-10, UC San Diego, 10-4, and over the host No. 5 Anteaters in sudden-victory, 9-8. Goalkeeper EB Keeve stopped an all-time Sun Devil record 23 shots in the fifth-place win over UCI, and averaged 14 per game through the 3-1 weekend. Alkistis Benekou put away six goals against San Jose State, tying for second most in the MPSF this year. The Sun Devils host No. 1 USC Saturday to open MPSF action.
SAN JOSE STATE (13-7 Overall, 0-0 MPSF) Clara Espar Llaquet combined for 11 goals, including a hat trick against No. 6 Hawaii, as the Spartans split four games in Irvine. The win over the Rainbow Wahine marked the highest ranked team San Jose State has knocked off in three years. Rae Lekness, meanwhile, tied the all-time Spartan single-game record with eight goals in the 11-8 win over Pacific. The MPSF Opener is Saturday against Stanford.
BAKERSFIELD (5-13 Overall, 0-0 MPSF) plays a doubleheader Saturday in Thousand Oaks, CA, taking on Cal Lutheran and La Verne. The Roadrunners dropped their UCI Invitational games to USC, UC Davis, Loyola Marymount, and Pacific.