Feb. 18, 2005
LOS ANGELES, CA -
California's Brittani Llorente scored two goals in the last minute of the second half to break a 3-3 tie and help the No. 8-ranked Golden Bears upset No. 4 Loyola Marymount, 8-4, in women's water polo action Friday afternoon at the Burns Aquatic Center in Los Angeles. The Lions had taken a 3-2 lead on Stacia Peterson's goal in the second period, but could not come back in the second half. LMU drop its first game of the season to fall to 6-1 overall, while Cal improved to 4-2 and 1-0 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
The Bears took the first lead on Breana Allison's goal, but the Lions responded with goals by Cara Colton and Christine Robinson to take a 2-1 lead. Jodie Needles tied the game at 2-2 with 35 seconds remaining in the first period.
Peterson's goal gave LMU its final lead of the game with 2:03 remaining in the first half. Less than 20 seconds later, the Bears tied it up on Needles' second goal of the game, and Llorente's goals in the final minute of the second period gave the Bears the 5-3 halftime lead.
Robinson scored her second goal of the game at 5:44 in the third period to make it a 5-4 game, but the Lions' offense was unable to score the rest of the game. The Bears scored two goals in a one minute span in the third period to pull ahead 7-4, and added an insurance goal in the fourth period.
The Lions were led by Robinson's two goals, while Needles and Llorente each had two goals for Cal. Alex Feune de Colombi made 10 saves in net for the Bears, while Rachel Riddell made eight saves for LMU.
The Bears will next face No. 2-ranked and defending national champion USC, Saturday, Feb. 19 at 12 p.m. at McDonalds' Swim Stadium. USC had defeated LMU, 10-8, in last years' NCAA title match.
Teams 1 2 3 4 Total
California (4-2) 2 3 2 1 8
LMU (6-1) 2 1 1 0 4
Goals:
California: Jodie Needles 2, Brittani Llorente 2, Elsie Windes,
Allison Gold, Breana Allison, Lauren McGee
LMU: Christine Robinson 2, Cara Colton, Stacia Peterson
Saves: California, Alex Feune de Columbi, 10
LMU, Rachel Riddell, 8
