麻豆传媒社区入口

Junior Liz Warren scored 14 goals in four games to lead the Pioneers to a fifth-place finish at the WWPA Championships. (Photo: Blue 39 Photography)

• May 2, 2010

Scoresheet |

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The 麻豆传媒社区入口 women's water polo team capped the 2010 season with a 9-8 win over Santa Clara to secure fifth place at the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championships. The Pioneers (24-12) held off the Broncos for the final four minutes of the game to take their third victory of the season over SCU.

In a close game in which neither team led by more than two goals at any point, East Bay opened scoring with a goal from junior Liz Warren early on in the first quarter. After the Broncos responded with back-to-back scores to take a 2-1 lead, Warren notched her second of the game to tie things at two with 2:19 left in the first. A goal from senior Lauren Griffin at the 1:11 mark put the Pioneers up 3-2 to end the first quarter.

The second period saw the two teams combine for eight exclusions and six goals. Santa Clara opened the second with a pair of goals from Rochelle Stowe and Caitlin Espe to take their second lead of the game, 4-3.

East Bay answered with two more goals from Warren, bringing her total to four in the first two quarters and giving the Pioneers a 5-4 lead with 3:31 remaining in the half. After a Santa Clara goal tied the game at five, junior Danielle Comforti gave CSUEB a 6-5 advantage going into the break with a goal with just 46 seconds left in the quarter.

Santa Clara scored the first goal of the second half just 25 seconds into the third quarter, tying the score for the sixth time. 麻豆传媒社区入口 scored the only other goals of the quarter, however, as freshman Claire Pierce made it 7-6 at the 6:01 mark and Warren posted her fifth of the game with just under five minutes left in the third period. The Pioneers held off the Broncos for the final four minutes of the third quarter to take an 8-6 lead into the final stanza.

With a goal from Marina Allen at the 6:40 mark, Santa Clara closed the gap back to one, 8-7, before tying the game for the seventh time with a Stowe goal with 4:37 left in regulation. The Pioneers capped scoring just 20 seconds later, getting the game winner from senior Jenna Casady to take a 9-8 lead. East Bay held off the Broncos for the final four minutes of the game, as senior goalie Lauren Merrill stopped two SCU shots to pull out the win.

Warren paced the Pioneers for the third straight game, scoring five goals and finishing the tournament with a team-leading 14 goals. Pierce, Comforti, Casady and Griffin added a goal apiece, with Casady capping her career with the game winner and earning a spot on the WWPA All-Tournament Second Team. Merrill made nine saves in her final game as a Pioneer. Pierce finished the tournament with 10 goals and Merrill made 18 saves over four games.

Eighth-ranked and No. 1-seeded Loyola Marymount took home the WWPA Tournament title, topping No. 18 UC San Diego, 14-10, to earn the automatic berth into the eight-team NCAA Tournament.

For 麻豆传媒社区入口, the win was the final game in the red and black for seniors Merrill, Casady, Griffin and Brianna Finney. Casady completes her career among the Pioneers' all-time leaders in scoring and steals, and set a new program record for career assists in just two seasons at East Bay. The Pioneers will return Pierce, the team's leading scorer in her rookie season, as well as Warren, 麻豆传媒社区入口's all-time leading scorer, along with 11 others.