April 27, 2008

SAN DIEGO - Top-seeded UCLA won the 2008 MPSF Championship and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with its 8-7 victory over third-seeded USC on Sunday afternoon at Aztec Aquaplex. The Bruins remained unbeaten at 30-0, while the Women of Troy watched their record drop to 19-7.

After one period, UCLA led 3-1 and extended its lead to 6-3 going into halftime thanks to two second-quarter goals by Courtney Matthewson.

After intermission, USC received goals from Veronika Bartunkova, Michelle Stein and Jordan Anae, while holding the Bruins scoreless to knot the score at 6-6 at the end of three. The Women of Troy carried the momentum into the fourth period, taking a 7-6 lead with 6:31 remaining, but single goals from UCLA's Katie Rulon and Gabrielle Domanic provided the Bruins the necessary offensive output to emerge with the league title.

UCLA's Matthewson led all scorers with three goals and Domanic added two for the Bruins. USC, meanwhile, was paced by Alexandra Kiss' two scores.

MPSF Championship Game
#1 UCLA 8, #3 USC 7
Aztec Aquaplex - San Diego, Calif.
April 27, 2008

UCLA	3-3-0-2 -- 8
USC 	1-2-3-1 -- 7

UCLA goals: Matthewson 3, Domanic 2, Gandy 2, Rulon
USC goals: Kiss 2, Bartunkova, Davies, J. Anae, Lucas, Stein

UCLA goalie saves: Fullen 7
USC goalie saves: T. Anae 14