CLAREMONT, Calif. – No. 10/9 UC Irvine rattled off two goals in the final two minutes of action, but it was not enough as they fell 9-8 to No. 12/13 LMU in the opening round of the Convergence Invitational.
 
Attacker Kennedy East was the only Anteater to post a multi-score game with two goals on four attempts to go with a steal and drawn exclusion.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Six UCI players contributed the remaining goals
• Brooke Hourigan dished a game-high two assists
• Rachel Kirchner stopped five shots in 32 minutes
• Nioka Thomas drew a game-best three exclusions followed by Madi O'Hara's two drawn kickouts
• UCI converted five of their eight power play opportunities (5-8, 0.625)
• The Anteaters dropped their first contest to the Lions since Feb 25, 2012 (L, 9-6)
• No. 12/13 LMU was led by two three-goal scorers in Carolina Magano and Ruth Arino Ruiz alongside Alyssa Barnuevo's 14 saves

 
SCORING BREAKDOWN

• First period: The Lions worked on their first possession, drawing the exclusions to go up 1-0 at 7:33 off the five-meter make. No. 10/9 UC Irvine then went on a three-goal run with two goals on power play chances at 3:51 by Kennedy East and 1:24 by Gracie Helberg to lead 3-1.
  • East (1), Helberg (1), and O'Hara (1)
• Second period: No. 12/13 LMU buried one into the back of the cage at 6:45 to draw within one, 3-2. The Lions would stop all the Anteaters attempts at the net while converting two more on their offensive end to go ahead of UCI, 4-3, at the half.
• Third period: Both sides exchanged scores to start the second half of action. UCI drew an exclusion that allowed Annabelle Mundelius (4:57) to score while up a man of a Helberg assist then Vivian Bailey (4:01) netting one less than a minute later off a dish from Brook Hourigan to keep it close, 6-5.
  • Bailey (1) and Mundelius (1)
• Fourth period: LMU won the sprint and quickly attacked to push out by two before denying an Anteater attempt on defense to set up a goal scoring opportunity to build a three-point lead, 8-5, at 6:01. After Nioka Thomas (4:32) converted the five-meter shot, the Lions moved ahead by three again, 9-6, at 2:48 on a long pass down the pool from the keeper. The Anteaters kept working in center, drawing the exclusion where East (2:04) was able to rip and then Avy Newton (1:22) found the back of the cage to close within one, 9-8. UCI was unable to score on their next penalty shot and saw their shot in the final seconds saved by the LMU goalkeeper, preventing the contest from going to an extra frame.
  • East (1), Newton (1), and Thomas (1)

 
UP NEXT
UCI turns around for a 3:15 p.m. meeting with La Salle.