THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's water polo team was unable to come away with a victory at the Tina Finali Tournament hosted by California Lutheran. The Bobcats (2-14) fell 17-2 to Azusa Pacific University, 21-8 to Cal Lutheran, and 27-10 to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Cal Lutheran and CMS are ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in the CWPA Women's Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll.
Claudette Asenjo powered the Bobcats offense with nine combined goals and she scored at least two in each match. She tied her season-high with five goals in the weekend finale against CMS.
Match One (Feb. 21): APU 17, UC Merced 2
APU put five quick goals on the board before the Bobcats briefly stopped the run with an Asenjo goal. Both teams were stout defensively in the second quarter, but APU shutout the Bobcats and scored twice to lead 7-1 at halftime.
UC Merced's only other goal in the match came from Asenjo with 1:40 remaining in the third quarter. APU led 11-2 heading into the final frame and tacked on six more goals in their 17-2 victory.
UC Merced Goals: Asenjo (2)
Match Two (Feb. 22): Cal Lutheran 21, UC Merced 8
The match started with both teams trading goals over the first five minutes. Kiryn Wicker scored two early goals for UC Merced and Asenjo scored one, but Cal Lutheran finished the first quarter with back-to-back goals to take a 6-3 lead.
Asenjo converted a penalty shot to get the scoring started in the second quarter and close the gap to two. However, Cal Lutheran responded with five unanswered goals leading into intermission to leave the Bobcats with an 11-4 deficit.
Cal Lutheran continued their run into the third quarter outscoring the Bobcats 6-2 in the frame, including scoring five in a row to create comfortable separation. Breyenne Pierce and Wicker accounted for the Bobcats third quarter goals.
Pierce scored two more goals for the Bobcats in the fourth quarter to complete her first career hat trick. Her scoring was mixed in with four Cal Lutheran goals as the Bobcats fell 21-8
UC Merced Goals: Pierce (3), Wicker (3), Asenjo (2)
Match Three (Feb. 22): CMS 27, UC Merced 10
Asenjo scored the games first goal on a powerplay, but CMS dominated the rest of the quarter outscoring the Bobcats 6-1 to build an early lead.
CMS stayed hot offensively in the second quarter denting the twine seven times. UC Merced scored twice, seeing Wicker and Asenjo score a goal each. The Bobcats trailed 13-4 at halftime.
CMS continued to put goals on the board the rest of the way, scoring five times in the third quarter and scoring a game-high nine times in the final frame to finish with 27 goals. The Bobcats also had a good offensive fourth quarter as they scored five times, including two goals from Viviana Luna.
The Bobcats ten goals marked the third highest scoring output of the season, however it was the first time scoring double-digits in a loss.
UC Merced Goals: Asenjo (5), Luna (2), Wicker (2), Aislyn Sorsky (1)
UC Merced was without goalkeeper Amelie Ramirez on the weekend. Three different Bobcats split time in the cage throughout the three matches: Luna (9 saves), Kamarin Holm (4 saves), and Yaritza Elizondo (4 saves).
Looking ahead, UC Merced will return to action at the Convergence Tournament hosted by Pomona-Pitzer February 28-March 1. The tournament schedule is TBA.
