WPOLO5/10/2015 12:40 AM | By: Cal Athletics
Bears Fall To UCLA In NCAA Semifinals
STANFORD – Sophomores Roser Tarrago and Dora Antal each scored two goals but the fourth-seeded Cal women's water polo team fell 9-5 to No. 1 UCLA in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships on Saturday at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center.
The Bears (20-8) will play in the NCAA Third Place Game on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
The Bruins (26-2) jumped out to a 4-0 lead with 3:10 remaining in the second quarter before Tarrago scored her first goal to make it 4-1 at the half.
Cal (20-8) then came out strongly to begin the third period. Freshman Kindred Paul scored just as a 6-on-5 was expiring to trim the deficit to 4-2, and Antal netted her first score with 3:57 remaining in the first half to cut it to 4-3. Goalie Madeline Trabucco came up with a point-blank save on a shot by UCLA's Emily Donohoe just before Antal's goal.
But the Bruins had an answer. Rachel Fattal scored on a 6-on-5 to push the advantage back to 5-3, and Kodi Hill scored the first of her three goals on a lob over Trabucco just as the shot clock was expiring. UCLA led 6-3 at the end of the third quarter.
The Bruins pulled away to begin the fourth quarter, getting a goal on a penalty shot by Fattal and another score by Hill on the 6-on-5.Tarrago and Antal each added her second goal during the game's final four minutes.
Antal, who moved into ninth place on Cal's all-time scoring list during Friday's quarterfinals, is now in Cal's top-10 in all-time single season scoring for the second time. She now has 64 goals in 2015, which is ninth in Cal history. Last season as a freshman, Antal recorded the fourth-highest single-season scoring total at Cal with 75 goals.