Story Links PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Racing out to early leads in both contests, the 24th-ranked Pacific women’s water polo made clutch plays in the end to beat Villanova 17-16 in overtime before closing out La Salle 15-12 on Saturday hosted by Brown at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center. Nine different Tigers (2-0) scored on the […]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Racing out to early leads in both contests, the 24th-ranked Pacific women’s water polo made clutch plays in the end to beat Villanova 17-16 in overtime before closing out La Salle 15-12 on Saturday hosted by Brown at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center.
Nine different Tigers (2-0) scored on the day, including eight goals apiece by senior Hila Futorian and sophomore Alicia Petkov. Junior Dora Alaksza tallied six goals on the day including the last two in overtime to lead Pacific victory against Villanova (4-2).
Senior Addison McGowan was a key contributor with four goals in two games. Other goal scorers included senior Sierra Cavano, senior Natalie Johnston, senior Ilyana Zlobinsky, sophomore Ella Cowan and sophomore Ariel Cordova.
The first match of the day was a back-and-forth battle. The Tigers led 6-2 midway through the second quarter on a goal by Futorian, but the Wildcats stormed back with four goals to tie it 6-6 at the 3:35 mark.
The match was still even 11-11 after a goal by Futorian with 7:33 to go in the fourth. Though, Villanova created slight separation by going up 13-11 with 5:46 left. Pacific evened it 13-13 with 3:02 remaining after two more goals by Futorian.
The game tied 15-15 after the first three minutes of overtime when Alaksza scored twice in the final frame, both from long range. The game-winner came with 1:22 left and Pacific made a pair of stops in the end to seal the win.
The Tigers got off to a similar start against the Explorers (0-6), leading 5-2 late in the first quarter after a tally by Alaksza. A goal by Petkov increased it to 8-4 with 49 seconds left in the half.
Pacific took its biggest lead of the game 11-5 on a score by McGowan with 4:48 remaining in the third. La Salle slowly crept back in it and trimmed the deficit to 11-10 with 6:19 to go in the fourth.
The Tigers answered with a decisive 4-0 run to put the game out of reach 15-10 which was capped by a goal by Cordova with 2:21 left.
Pacific improved to 2-0 all-time against Villanova after winning 19-2 in 2011. It was the first-ever meeting between Pacific and La Salle.
The Tigers will play two more matches tomorrow against Marist at 6:15 a.m. (PT) and No. 22 Brown at 9:15 a.m. (PT). All matches of the tournament will be streamed live on ESPN+. Click here to view tournament central.
Tigers Tickets
Tickets for upcoming events can be purchased through the PacificTigers.com tickets tab, or by calling the Box Office at 209-946-2474. Groups of 10 or more are eligible for a group discount and exclusive fan experiences.
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