Game 1 scoring summary | Game 2 scoring summary
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - It took a sudden-death victory in the finale, but the Cal State East Bay water polo team finished the Roadrunner Invitational with a Sunday sweep thanks to a 21-5 victory over La Verne and a dramatic 12-11 sudden-death overtime triumph over Brown. The Pioneers (12-8) got 11 goals on the day from
Claire Pierce and saw goalie
Jayme Pekarske have a career game in the win over the Bears to post their eighth win in the last 10 games and finish the tournament with a 3-1 record.
It took nearly 41 minutes for the Pioneers and Bears to decide a winner, as the two teams battled back-and-forth through the first two overtime periods before East Bay broke through in the final minute of the first sudden-death period. Before they could get to overtime, the Bears opened scoring in the first quarter before East Bay answered back with a 6-on-5 goal from Pierce to tie the game 1-1.
Sara Hudyn made it 2-1 nearly five minutes later, but Samantha Ryu pulled Brown even with 1:03 left in the quarter. Back-to-back goals in the final 15 seconds of the period, including a penalty shot goal from Pierce and a score with one second remaining from
Kate McAfee, gave the Pioneers a 4-2 lead going into the second quarter.
It took more than three minutes for the teams to get going in the second period, with East Bay getting a 6-on-5 goal from
Carly Clark to take a 5-2 lead with 4:43 to play before the half. The Bears pulled back within one thanks to back-to-back goals over the next two minutes to cut the lead to 5-4. The Pioneers, however, answered right back thanks to Hudyn's second goal of the game, regaining a two-goal advantage with 3:19 remaining. Over the final three minutes of the half, the two teams traded goals, with Brown getting its first 6-on-5 goal of the game from Emily McNamara before
Erica Crain made it 7-5 in favor of the Pioneers. A late goal from the Bears' Claudia Ruiz cut the East Bay lead back to one, 7-6, going into the break.
The two teams continued to duke it out after halftime, combining for just four goals in the third quarter, thanks in part to Pekarske's superb defense. During the third period, the senior goalie made a game-high eight saves. East Bay got things started to regain an 8-6 lead on a 6-on-5 score from Pierce before Ryu responded to cut the advantage back to one, 8-7, with 5:30 left in the period. Pierce was at it again two minutes later, though, putting the Pioneers up 9-7, but the Bears scored another late goal to pull back within one going into the fourth quarter.
In the lowest scoring quarter during regulation, East Bay again started off with a goal from Hudyn to grab back a two-goal lead. The Pioneers then held the Bears scoreless for the next two minutes, including a 6-on-5 situation. Brown ended the scoring drought, however, pulling within one on a player-advantage goal with 5:09 left to play. Following a pair of missed 6-on-5 chances for East Bay, the Bears scored with just two seconds left to send the game into overtime.
The first three-minute overtime saw Brown take its first lead since the 7:16 mark in the first quarter, getting a goal from Madison Pepper just 50 seconds into the period. Both teams wasted 6-on-5 opportunities late in the first overtime, but the Pioneers tied the game back up at 11 just over 30 seconds into the second period thanks to a goal from
Meaghan Paschall. Tied 11-11, the Pioneers had a chance to earn the overtime win on a penalty with 32 seconds remaining, but could not take advantage, sending the game into sudden-death. After missing out on a pair of 6-on-5 chances in the first sudden-death period, East Bay got the game winner from
Sophie Armstrong with just 15 seconds left in the period.
Pekarske was the key to the East Bay defense in the win, making a career-high 23 saves, including three saves in each of the last three periods. She also added three steals and an assist to cap one of her best games as a Pioneer. Pekarske and the defense also held the Bears to just three goals in 10 6-on-5 opportunities. On the other end, Brown goalie Evan Cranston finished with 11 saves.
Offensively, the Pioneers were led by Pierce's four goals, while Hudyn notched three and Armstrong, Clark, Crain and McAfee each added a goal. For the Bears, Emily McNamara led the way with four scores.
The win also marked the Pioneers' fifth over a Division I opponent and their first in overtime during the 2012 campaign.
East Bay rolled in game one, holding the Leopards to just three goals in the first half. Both McAfee and Hudyn scored a pair in the first quarter, while Pierce and Armstrong added a goal apiece to put the Pioneers up 6-0. During the first period, east Bay took advantage of a pair of 6-on-5 chances, while goalie
Mary Reardon, making her first start, recording one save.
La Verne out-scored East bay 3-2 in the second quarter but the Pioneers opened the period with two goals to extend their scoring streak to eight on a pair of scores from Pierce. The Leopards finally ended their 13-minute drought with their first of three straight goals with 3:01 remaining in the half. Two goals in the final minute of the second quarter cut the East Bay lead to just five, 8-3, at the half.
The Pioneers got back to scoring in the third quarter, putting away another six goals, while holding La Verne to just two scores. Crain and Pierce pushed the East Bay lead to seven to open the quarter before the Leopards countered to make it a 10-4 game with 4:37 left in the period. The two teams exchanged goals at just under four minutes, but it would be the last score for La Verne. McAfee would post a pair in less than a minute to give East Bay a 13-5 advantage, while Paschall finished out the quarter with a goal to give the Pioneers their largest lead of the game so far, 14-5, going into the fourth quarter.
The final period was all East Bay, as they posted seven unanswered goals, including two apiece from Paschall, Pierce and McAfee and another from Hudyn. Reardon finished with two saves and three steals in the first half, while
Marrina Nation added five saves in the final two quarters.
All told, Pierce finished the day with 11 goals to bring her weekend total to 23, including 17 in the four-game tournament. Hudyn added 12 goals in the five games and McAfee posted 10, including her season-high six in the win over the Leopards. Meanwhile, Pekarske posted 56 saves in four games during the weekend.
Cal State East Bay will return to action next weekend when it travels to Seaside to meet Concordia and Cal State Monterey Bay. The Pioneers will take on the Eagles at 1 p.m. before taking on the host Otters at 4 p.m. on Mar. 31 at The Otter Tank.
Cal State East Bay 21, La Verne 5
CSUEB: 6 2 6 7 =
21
La Verne: 0 3 2 0 =
5
Goals
CSUEB: Pierce 7, McAfee 6, Hudyn 3, Paschall 3, Armstrong, Crain
La Verne: Broyles 2, Vargas 2, Orduno
Saves
CSUEB: Reardon 2, Nation 3
Cal State East Bay 12, Brown 11 (SD)
Brown: 2 4 2 2 1 0 0 =
11
CSUEB: 4 3 2 1 0 1 1 =
12
Goals
Brown: McNamara 4, Pepper 2, Presant 2, Ryu 2, Ruiz
CSUEB: Pierce 4, Hudyn 3, Armstrong, Clark, Crain, McAfee, Paschall
Saves
Brown: Cranston 11
CSUEB: Pekarske 23
