LA JOLLA, Calif. - The sixth-ranked UC Irvine women's water polo team defeated No. 15 UC San Diego, 10-9, Friday evening at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
 
The Anteaters improved to 10-6 overall and 2-0 in Big West play, while the Tritons dropped to 5-13 (0-2 Big West).
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Erin Tharp played all 32 minutes in the cage, finishing with 13 saves
>Elena Flynn tallied a game-high five goals
>Jessica Lynch also notched a hat trick with all three of her strikes coming in the first half
>Gracie Helberg added a pair of goals
>Kili Skibby and Airian Grisham recorded two assists each
>Skibby and Jensine Bugelli also tied for the team lead with three steals apiece
>Kendall Thomas and Caroline Christl paced the Tritons with four and three goals, respectively
 
FIRST PERIOD
>Lynch got the scoring started at the 7:15 mark
>UC San Diego responded 20 seconds later to make it 1-1
>Flynn then converted a penalty goal with 5:29 remaining in the period
>UC Irvine tacked on two more before the buzzer to take a 4-1 lead
>Helberg found the back of the net with 1:37 to go, while Lynch notched her second goal with five second on the clock
 
SECOND PERIOD
>The Tritons scored twice in the first two minutes to close the gap to 4-3
>Flynn answered with back-to-back goals to secure the hat trick
>Lynch followed with her third tally of the game to make it 7-3 with 2:22 to play
>UCSD accounted for the final goal of the quarter to pull back within three (7-4)
 
THIRD PERIOD
>The 'Eaters only scored once in the third frame but maintained their advantage with solid defense
>UC San Diego's Thomas struck at the 6:18 mark before Helberg got UCI on the board with 5:49 left
>The Tritons came back within two just 36 seconds later but both teams went scoreless the rest of the way
 
FOURTH PERIOD
>Flynn netted her fourth and fifth goals of the night to make it 10-7 with 4:24 to go
>UCSD converted a penalty shot and then cut the deficit to one with 57 seconds remaining
>The Anteaters came up empty on the offensive end, but Tharp picked up her 13th save with time winding down to seal the win
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine continues Big West play at Cal State Fullerton on Sunday, March 12, with first sprint at 12 p.m. It will be the first meeting between the two programs as the Titans are in their inaugural season.