CARLISLE, Pa. — Following a turnover, Ella Fritch (Jr., Roseville, Calif.) sprinted down the pool and accepted a pass to net the game-winner as No. 2-ranked/No. 9 seed/Sierra Pacific Division Champion the University of California outlasted No. 5/No. 1 seed/Pacific Coast Division Champion the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) in a quarterfinal at the 2026 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted at the Carlisle YMCA Aquatic Center.
California – which previously claimed first (2015, 2022), third (2023), fifth (2014), ninth (2025) and 11th (2013) at the Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship – will return to the water at 5:10 p.m. Eastern later today to face the victor of another quarterfinal matching No. 18/No. 4 seed/North Atlantic Division Champion Yale University and No. 11/No. 5 seed/New England Division Champion Northeastern University.
UCLA – which holds prior second (2024), fifth (2010), sixth (2008), seventh (2011) and ninth (2009, 2023) place marks at the Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship – will take on the fallen from the Yale-Northeastern quarterfinal clash at 4:00 p.m. Eastern with a spot in the championship’s fifth place game on the line.
The game began and concluded with the Golden Bears queens of the den as Player of the Game Alison Marie KokorowoskI (Jr., Manhattan Beach, Calif.) (4:08), Mia Walsh (Fr., Oakland, Calif.) (1:29) and Gabby Norris (Gr., Danville, Calif.) swished back-to-back-to-back natural goals to stake Cal to a 3-0 lead following seven minutes of competition.
Helene MacBeth (Jr., San Clemente, Calif.) broke the ice for the Bruins via a man-up strike with 3:59 remaining in the second quarter, Zoe Petty (Jr., Orinda, Calif.) responded for California at 3:29 and Natasha Gerhardstein (Sr., London, United Kingdom) dinged the twine with 55 ticks left on the clock to make the score 4-2 in favor of the Golden Bears heading into halftime.
Samantha DiMarco (Jr, Eugene, Ore.) chipped Cal’s lead down to 4-3 via a man-up strike at the 6:21 mark of the third quarter before Kokorowoski expanded the spread back to a pair at 5-3 with 4:56 on the clock. Gerhardstein (4:39) and Jordyn Nishimura (Jr., Honolulu, Hawaii) (3:59) spun home shots on back-to-back possessions to square the squads at five-all before MacBeth pushed UCLA ahead 6-5 with 2:44 to play in the frame Cal erased its inaugural deficit of the contest as Kokorowoski completed a hat-trick with 49 seconds left in the frame to deadlock the teams at six-all heading into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was marked by the score flipping from one-goal leads to equality as Nishimura (6:39) gave UCLA a 7-6 marin, Kokorowoski (5:11, penalty shot) leveled the score for California, MacBeth (4:23, man-up) staked the Bruins to an 8-7 margin and Kokorowoski (3:18) tossed in an equalizer to make it an eight-all contest. Kokorowoski placed Cal back ahead for the first time since a 5-4 advantage in the third quarter, but Nishimura wrapped up a hat-trick by racking up the equalizer with 1:46 remaining in regulation to make it a nine-all contest.
Neither team was able to deliver a deciding blow in the remaining 106 seconds of the fourth quarter to bring on a pair of three-minute overtime periods.
In the first OT, Kokorowoski pumped in her seventh goal of the contest to provide California a 10-9 scoreboard advantage.
MacBeth posted an equalizer with 1:44 to go in the second overtime to keep UCLA’s hopes of playing tomorrow for the National Championship, but Fritch put a dagger into the Bruins’ title hopes by accepting a pass and lining in the eventual game-winner with 27 seconds left for an 11-10 victory.
For UCLA, MacBeth (four), Nishimura (three), Gerhardstein (two) and DiMarco combined for the Bruins’ offense. In cage, Noelle Antongiovanni (Jr., Novato, Calif.) (two) and Charlie Flores (Jr., Malibu, Calif.) (seven) combined for nine saves.
California received a game-high seven goals from Kokorowoski and solo tallies by Norris, Petty, Walsh and Fritch. Goalkeeper Sierra Palese (So., Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) stopped six shots in picking up the victory.
The University of California-Los Angeles’ Sahra Sutaria (#13) seeks to stop the University of California’s Ella Fritch (#4)
University of California-Los Angeles’ Natasha Gerhardstein (#11) & the University of California’s Gabby Norris (#11)
University of California’s isabelle Goodman (#5) seeks an open athlete as the University of California-Los Angeles’ Serena Wagner (#27) defends
University of California
