UC Irvine
Cal State Northridge
Anteaters Attain Big West Crown
April 27, 2014 | Women's Water Polo
LONG BEACH, Calif. --- UC Irvine women's water polo returned to its rightful position on top of the Big West with an 11-4 win over Cal State Northridge Sunday afternoon securing its fifth Big West Tournament title and sending them back to the NCAA Tournament for the third time.
Big West Tournament MVP Hannah Croghan got things started for the 'Eaters that trailed initially as she tied the match at 1-1 midway through the first period. UCI (24-7, 5-0) would build its early lead to 3-1 after capitalizing on offense and getting a huge effort from Jillian Yocum in net as she recorded five of her 11 saves in the first.
The squads jockeyed for position in the second period as CSUN (23-9, 3-2) would pull to within one goal three times, but each time the Anteaters would answer finished off by a pinpoint shot from Croghan with just eight seconds left to keep the two-goal lead at 6-4 at the half.
The Anteater defense would resurface in the second half shutting the Matadors out while picking off numerous passes and blocking four shots from the field.
In the third period, Jessy Cardey netted her second goal of the match making her the all-time Anteater goal leader with 218 in her illustrious career surpassing Robyn Kaake who had held the mark since 2007. Cardey also made history in the second period on her first goal surpassing UC Davis' Jessica Dunn for the career tournament goal mark, which now stands in Cardey's possession with 21.
The seconds would wind down as Croghan added two more to her total in the fourth quarter for a match-high four goals, and the celebration ensued in the pool.
Top-seeded UC Irvine erased the disappointment of 2013 in scoring its fifth Big West Tournament championship in the six years of the conference. The Anteaters' win also earns them a berth in the NCAA Tournament taking place in two weeks on the campus of USC. UCI's seeding and opponent will be determined Mon. Apr. 28 at 5:00 p.m. live on ncaa.com.
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
F |
|
CSUN |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
|
UCI |
3 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
11 |
UCI goals: Hannah Croghan (4), Danielle Warde (3), Jessy Cardey (2), Cambria Shockley, McKenna Mitchell
CSUN goals: Jenny Jamison, Kelcie Ferreira, Katie Kammer, Marisa Young
Saves: Jillian Yocum (UCI) – 11; Kiernan Davis (CSUN) – 4
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