UC Santa Barbara Official Athletic Site

Lindsay Knott and Gillian Morgan each posted hat tricks as UCSB scored eight times in the second half.

April 25, 2008

SAN DIEGO - Eight second half goals led 12th-seeded UC Santa Barbara to a 10-7 win over 13th-seeded Pacific Friday in second round action of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Women's Water Polo Championships. The Gauchos were down 4-2 at halftime, but exploded for five goals in the third period and another three in the fourth quarter to ice the victory.

Pacific (4-27) got out to an early 2-0 lead as Kellie Fletcher found the net twice in the first three minutes of the opening quarter. UCSB (6-19) came back with goals from Morgan and Christie Clark to tie the score at 2-2 heading into the second quarter.

The Tigers took the lead again with a pair of goals in the second, the first by Jessica Safir and the second by Fletcher, her third of the game. Pacific held the Gauchos scoreless in the frame to take a 4-2 lead into halftime.

In the third period, UCSB exploded for five goals. Morgan and Knott each scored in the first two minutes to knot the game at 4-4. Following a Santa Barbara timeout, the Gauchos took their first lead of the game as Lizzie Rouleau scored at the 5:12 mark. Pacific notched the game's next two goals to go back up by a score of 6-5 with 2:48 left in the period. However, UCSB wasn't done as Kristin Kulakowski scored at 2:27 and Morgan put the Gauchos up for good with her third goal of the game at 1:48.

UCSB tallied the first goal of the fourth quarter at 6:45 when Knott found the back of the net. The Gauchos took a 9-6 lead at 4:33 when Rouleau pocketed her second goal of the game. Just 20 seconds later, Knott completed her hat trick to give UCSB a 10-6 advantage. Pacific scored its seventh and final goal with 1:30 left in the game.

In the cage, UCSB's Jenny Gonzales made a game-high seven saves. Pacific's Jocelyn Gray stopped six Gaucho bids.

UCSB takes on eighth-seeded UC Irvine Saturday at 9 a.m. at San Diego State's Aztec Aquaplex.

UCSB 10, Pacific 7 (MPSF Second Round)

       1   2   3   4   Final
UCSB   2   0   5   3   10
PAC    2   2   2   1   7

UCSB Goals: Lindsay Knott 3, Gillian Morgan 3, Lizzie Rouleau 2, Christie Clark 1, Kristin Kulakowski 1.
Pacific Goals: Kellie Fletcher 3, Courtney Boettger 1, Alex Kutac 1, Meara McCarthy 1, Jessica Safir 1.

UCSB Saves: Jenny Gonzales, 7
Pacific Saves: Jocelyn Gray, 6

-- UCSBGauchos.com --