LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's water polo team scored eight goals in each match but fell 9-8 to Occidental and 20-8 to NCAA Division One opponent Virgina Military Institute on day one of the Convergence Invitational on Friday.
Liberty Hamilton and Melanie Torres scored five goals each throughout the day, while Aislyn Sorsky recorded four goals.
Hope Stokes tallied a program-record 17 saves in the first match and then was credited with 12 more against VMI.
Match One Occidental 9, UC Merced 8
UC Merced erased two different multi-goal deficits in its first ever meeting against Occidental and was tied 8-8 with a minute to go in the match before falling 9-8.
Hamilton notched her first hat trick in a UC Merced uniform in the game and also added a season-high tying four steals and a season-high two field blocks. Torres and Sorsky scored two goals each.
Stokes, who had a program single-game record 17 saves, scored the Bobcats first goal of the day just before the end of the first quarter.
Oxy scored three straight goals within three minutes to start the day but Stokes and the Bobcats held the Tigers scoreless for the next ten minutes of clock time.
The Tigers scoring drought allowed the Bobcats to pull even at 3-3 with a goal each from Stokes, Torres, and Sorsky. Stokes scored at the end of the first quarter with her teammates two goals coming early in the second frame.
Oxy broke through again with 2:49 to go in the second quarter only to be answered by Torres on the Bobcats next trip up the field. However, the Tigers also answered and they led 5-4 at intermission.
UC Merced trailed 6-4 when Hamilton started her goal scoring on the day and deposited the Bobcats next two shots into the back of the net to tie the game again. It remained 6-6 entering the final quarter.
The Bobcats and Tigers alternated goals for the first six minutes of the fourth resulting in an 8-8 tie with two minutes to play. Hamilton scored with 5:07 to go and Sorsky with 2:01 with both goals coming at even strength.
After a couple defensive stops for each side, Oxy's Marisa Lipari netted the game-winning goal with three seconds left from beyond the half-distance line. Stokes tried to counter from nearly the same distance but her shot was saved resulting in the Tigers win.
Match Two VMI 20, UC Merced 8
UC Merced's eight goals against VMI marked their highest scoring output against a NCAA Division 1 foe in program history. Torres, who notched her first career hat trick, became the second ever Bobcat with a hat trick against a D1 team, while Hamilton and Sorsky supported the offense with two goals each. Piper Ferris also scored a goal.
Stokes finished with 12 saves.
UC Merced fell behind 2-0 two minutes in before getting a few defensive stops and then tying up the game with a goal each from Ferris and Sorsky. However, VMI answered with four goals in the final 2:12 of the first quarter and then tacked on two more quick scores in the second quarter to grab an 8-2 lead.
Hamilton stopped the run with a goal, but VMI had another run in them and scored four straight leading into intermission to extend their lead to 12-3.
VMI and UC Merced traded goals in a high scoring third quarter, each scoring five goals with no team scoring more than two unanswered. Torres had the Bobcats first three goals in the third quarter to earn her hat trick.
VMI shutout the Bobcats in the fourth quarter and scored three goals to finish the 20-8 victory.
Sydney Smith led VMI with seven goals. Six Keydets scored multiple goals overall.
