No. 10/10 UCI Falls To No. 5/6 USC, 10-7

Saturday, February 17

Irvine, CA

12 p.m.

UC Irvine

4-6

USC

5-2

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Southern California	4	3	2	1	10
UC Irvine	2	2	1	2	7

No. 10/10 UCI Falls To No. 5/6 USC, 10-7

February 17, 2024 | Women's Water Polo

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Jordan Kehoe

IRVINE, Calif. – No. 10/10 UC Irvine dropped 10-7 to the visiting No. 5/6 USC in the Anteaters home opener on Saturday afternoon.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Senior Jensine Bugelli was the only UCI player to score multiple goals with two
Libby Alexander, Brooke Hourigan, Madi O'Hara, Lauren Hett, and Sara Naulty rounded out the scoring
Four different Anteaters were credited with an assist
Senior Faith Tedesco played in net stopping eight shots
Kili Skibby drew a team best four exclusions
Skibby also stole the ball a game best three times
Airian Grisham and Gracie Helberg tallied two steals each
No. 5/6 USC was led by Ava Stryker who recorded three goals on five shots, two assists, and had a steal

SCORING BREAKDOWN

First period: No. 10/10 UC Irvine kicked off the game with a Jensine Bugelli ripping backhanded shot (6:50) in the center to take the early 1-0 lead. No. 5/6 USC then went on to score three straight before the Women of Troy were called for an exclusion that allowed the ball to be kicked out to Libby Alexander to bring UCI back within one with 48 seconds left on the clock. With two ticks left, USC added one more to go back in front by two, 4-2.
- Alexander (1) and Bugelli (1)
Second period: The Anteaters found themselves in front of the cage and were given the five-meter penalty call which was put in by Brooke Hourigan (7:29) to again put UCI back within one score (4-3). USC stretched their advantage by two goals until Sara Naulty launched a missile from the far side into the netting for the score at 4:02. The Women of Troy found the goal again at 2:57 to take a 7-4 lead into the break.
- Hourigan (1) and Naulty (1)
Third period: After USC doubled the margin, Bugelli (3:33) pushed the ball over the line into the cage off the goalkeeper's deflection to stop the opposition's run. The Women of Troy closed the period with a bounce in shot with 1:36 on the clock, 9-5.
- Bugelli (1)
Fourth period: No. 5/6 USC faced two direct shots from UC Irvine a little more than two-meters out from Lauren Hett (6:55) and Madi O'Hara (0:32), both on the 6-on-5 opportunities. USC deposited a shot into the cage in between the two Anteater goals to seal their 10-7 victory.
- Hett (1) and O'Hara (1)