THOUSAND OAKS, Calf. — Division III No. 8-ranked Austin College was on the positive and negative ends of one-goal games to open the 2022 season as the Kangaroos dropped a 9-8 opener to host/Division III No. 2 California Lutheran University and came back to trip Fresno Pacific University, 10-9, on the first day of the Tina Finali Memorial Tournament hosted at the Samuelson Aquatic Center.
The defending Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Champion, Austin held its own against the reigning Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Champion Regals to hold an 8-6 lead with 5:17 remaining in the fourth quarter.
However, Katherine Knight ripped in a shot at 2:37 and three-time Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) First Team All-America selection and 2021 Division III National Player of the Year Lexi Rond did the rest to allow the host team to escape with a one-goal win.
Rond tied the score at 2:06 and buried the game-winner with 12 seconds left in regulation to allow the Regals to rally back and snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat.
The difference in score between the two teams was never greater than a pair of goals as Austin held a 6-4 margin at halftime and a 7-5 lead with 3:34 left in the third quarter prior to its 8-6 advantage in the fourth frame.
The game was a nip-tuck affair from the opening whistle to the closing horn as Rond staked Cal Lutheran to a 1-0 lead 20 seconds into the contest. Brooke Le (Sr., Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound) delivered the equalizer for the ‘Roos 18 seconds later prior to Kemi Dijkstra putting CLU back in front at 2-1 with 4:26 left in the first quarter.
Both teams found the back twine once more in the opening eight minutes of action as Sophie Oliver (Sr., Houston, Texas/Langham Creek) torqued home a tally at 2:38 prior to Rond rifling in a response with 30 seconds left on the clock for a 3-2 Regals’ lead heading into the second quarter.
The game turned in the opening four minutes of the second quarter as Alyssa Ross (So., San Jose, Calif./Leland) put away a natural goal at 7:20 prior to Maddi Taylor (Sr., Copper Canyon, Texas/Marcus) converting a man-up chance at 4:01 to flip the scoreboard and put Austin ahead at 4-3.
The lead was short-lived as Maddie Stuart connected on a tying strike at 2:46 to even the damage at four-all.
However, the remainder of the first half belonged to the Texas squad as the Lexi Wong (Sr., Lantana, Texas//Guyer) (2:32, man-up) and Le (1:54) deposited back-to-back opportunities to stake Austin to a 6-4 lead by halftime.
Following two and a half minutes of back-and-forth play to begin the third quarter, Rond cut Cal Lutheran’s deficit in half by lining in a penalty shot with 5:31 on the clock to pull the Regals back to within one at 6-5.
Following dueling yellow cards to Austin head coach Mark Lawrence and Cal Lutheran head coach Cody Pletcher at the 4:11 mark, Oliver expanded the ‘Roos margin back to a pair at 7-5 by connecting on a a shot with 3:34 left in the third quarter.
Dijkstra trimmed Cal Lutheran’s deficit down to one at 7-6 with 1:03 left in the quarter to bring on the final eight minutes of regulation.
Wong returned the lead to a pair at 8-6 with 5:17 remaining in the fourth quarter by cashing in on a man-up chance, but Knight and Rond rallied the Regals down the stretch to defend their home water with a come-from-behind one-goal victory.
For Austin, Oliver, Le and Wong both scored twice. Ross and Taylor chipped in solo markers in support of goalie Valery Piachonkina (Sr., Castro Valley, Calif./Mission San Jose).
Across the tank, Rond finished with a game-high five goals to account for over half of the Regals’ offense. Dijkstra (two), Knight and Stuart combined for four strikes to aid a 12 save performance by netminder Izzy De Souza.
In the late game versus Fresno Pacific, Kalissa Niles (Fr., Richmond, Texas/Foster) scored with 4:41 remaining in the fourth quarter for the deciding blow as Austin picked up a one-goal victory.
Taylor was the star of the game as the senior stowed away four markers. Wong (two), Niles (one), Le (one), Presley Woods (Sr., Lantana, Texas/Guyer) (one) and Oliver (one) accounted for the remainder of the offense in support of a 12 save performance by Piachonkina.
Similar to the contest versus Cal Lutheran, the contest against Fresno Pacific was a back-and-forth affair with neither team capable of building a significant margin.
Emily Lopez-Ibarra drew first blood for the Sunbirds by putting away a natural goal at the 7:07 mark of the first quarter. Taylor balanced the scoreboard at 6:39 with a man-up score, but Rosemary Chapman returned the lead to FPU at 5:41.
Austin went ahead prior to the close of the first quarter as Le (man-up, 2:27) and Oliver (1:37) lined in shots to hand the ‘Roos at 3-2 margin after eight minutes.
Fresno Pacific erased its deficit and went ahead within the first two minutes of the second quarter as Amy Zaninovich (7:02) and Lopez-Ibarra (penalty shot, 6:06) provided their team a 4-3 prior to Madison Jacques enlarging the spread to 5-3 with a man-up strike at 4:33.
Taylor answered Jacques’ goal with one of her own at 4:16, but Jacques dented the twine again at 2:29 to make it 6-4.
However, the teams would head into halftime deadlocked at seven-all as Wong (1:39), Taylor (1:05) and Presley Woods (man-up, 36 seconds) went back-to-back-to-back to push Austin ahead 7-6. Chapman pulled the Sunbirds square by stuffing in a shot with 10 seconds left on the clock for a seven-all deadlock entering halftime.
The second half was dramatically different than the 14-goal first half as the teams settled into a defensive struggle which saw the programs combine for five scores.
Austin struck first in the third quarter as Taylor (5:21) and Wong (3:30) handed a Piachonkina a 9-7 lead to defend. Zaninovich sliced into FPU’s deficit with 39 seconds left in the frame as the Sunbirds closed to within a goal at 9-8 heading into the fourth quarter.
Fresno Pacific pulled even 49 seconds into the final quarter as Hannah Walker dented the netting with 7:11 left in regulation. However, Niles put away the game-winner at 4:41 and Piachonkina made the narrow lead hold up to claim a 10-9 win.
For Fresno Pacific, Jacques, Lopez-Ibarra, Chapman and Zaninovich all scored twice with Walker chipping in a solo marker. Camryn Berra stopped four shots in taking the loss between the pipes.
