Anteaters Comeback Bid Falls Short In Loss To No. 3/4 USC

Friday, January 24

Riverside, CA

1:30 PM

UC Irvine

1-1, 0-0

USC

4-0, 0-0

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UC Irvine	5	2	3	5	15
Southern California	2	5	5	6	18

Anteaters Comeback Bid Falls Short In Loss To No. 3/4 USC

January 24, 2025 | Women's Water Polo

Box Score

By: Jordan Kehoe

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Anteaters second half comeback bid falls short in 18-15 loss to No. 3/4 USC in the final game of the Lancer Joust Tournament.

It was an offensive showcase as both programs scored the most goals against each other in the all-time series history. Additionally, UCI's 15 goals against the Women of Troy are the most USC has given up all season and largest amount conceded since their 16-10 loss to Stanford on Feb. 26, 2022, at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational.

Attacker Lauren Hett posted her second four-goal game of the day in the loss, going 4-7 at the cage and added two steals.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Both Libby Alexander and Nioka Thomas ended with two goals and an assist
Seven UCI players tallied one goal apiece
Center Deirdre Murphy scored her first career goal
Sophomore Rachel Kirchner stopped six shots from finding the back of the cage
Pippa Heaver led all Anteaters with two assists
Kennedy East was credited with UCI's two drawn exclusions
Both teams shot 50 percent in the game (UCI, 15-30 and USC, 18-36)
The last three meetings between the Anteaters and Women of Troy have ended in a three-point margin
No. 3/4 USC was led by Ava Stryker and Tilly Kearns who both recorded five goals

SCORING BREAKDOWN

First period: The scoring seesawed twice in the beginning of the contest as No. 3/4 USC saw themselves up 2-1 at the 5:39 mark. No. 7/7 UC Irvine went on a four-goal run with two contributions from Libby Alexander (5:19, 1:17) and two from Nioka Thomas (3:58, 0:07) to put the Anteaters ahead 5-2.
- Alexander (2), Thomas (2), and East (1)
Second period: The Women of Troy capitalized on a UCI miscue at 5:22 for their first goal in eight minutes of game action before Lauren Hett (4:36) converted on the five-meter attempt to stay ahead 6-3. USC put away four unanswered goals to take the lead, but a goal from Gracie Helberg (1:34) evened the score 7-all at the end of period.
- Helberg (1) and Hett (1)
Third period: Both sides came out battling to open the second half, trying to keep the game balanced for as long as possible. The Women of Troy held on to the 10-9 edge until Annabelle Mundelius received the pass from Pippa Heaver at 2:45 to knot the game back up. USC responded on their next offensive drive to move back in front and then with three seconds left in the period, converted on the counterattack for the 12-10 advantage.
- Mary Hassett (1), Hett (1), and Mundelius (1)
Fourth period: UCI stopped the scoring run from USC with putaways from Sara Naulty (7:18) and Maja Layden (5:43) to make it a one-goal game, 13-12. The Women of Troy placed themselves in positions to draw exclusions or force turnovers which created another three-goal tear, widening the margin to 16-12. The Anteaters placed the ball carefully into the cage on consecutive five-meter attempts from Deirdre Murphy and Hett to close within two, 16-14 at 3:26. Thomas fed Hett for the score with one minute remaining to keep it a two-goal contest, but USC was awarded a five-meter shot to seal the game, 18-15.
- Hett (2), Layden (1), Murphy (1), and Naulty (1)

UP NEXT
No. 7/7 UC Irvine heads down to La Jolla for the Triton Invitational, first taking on RV California Baptist for a 12 p.m. game on Friday Jan. 31.