THOUSAND OAKS — The Occidental women's water polo team dropped all four games at the Posada Royal Invitational hosted by Cal Lutheran University last weekend.
Occidental's strong defense kept in the hunt against No. 12 Long Beach State University in the opener.
Oxy held the 49ers to just one goal in the first quarter and kept pace through the first half, trailing by a 5-1 margin.
While Oxy continued to play well defensively in the third quarter, offensive miscues led to four quick goals by LBSU as they opened up a 9-2 lead going into the fourth.
The Tigers managed to get some offense going in the final frame, scoring twice, but the 49ers answered with three goals of their own to finish with the 12-4 win.
Sophomore Lizzy Kosin scored her first goal of the season. Kosin, who's coming off a strong season with Oxy's swim team, made her season debut.
Senior goalies Sofie Munoz and Geneva Perez anchored Oxy's defense as they combined for 11 saves in the game.
BOX SCORE 1st 2nd 3rd 4th TOTAL
Occidental 0 1 1 2 4
LBSU 1 4 4 3 12
Goals/Attempts: Occidental-Kosin-1/1, Shyba-1/2, McClafferty, 1/1, Gill-1/4, Albino-0/1, Gibbs-0/2
ASSISTS: Occidental-Gibbs-2, McClafferty-1
STEALS: Occidental-Albino-2, McClafferty-2, Perez-1, Munoz-1, Gibbs-1
Turn-Overs: Occidental-Albino-3, Perez-1, Munoz-1, Soot-1
Exclusions/Drawn: Occidental-Kosin-0/2, DesCombes-0/2, Munoz-0/1, Shyba-0/1, Albino-0/1, Akiyama-0/1, Zurcher-0/1, Soot-2/1, Gibbs-2/1, Gill-1/1, McClafferty-1/0
Saves/Goals Allowed: Occidental-Perez-6/6, Munoz-5/6
In the second game of the tournament against Villanova University, the Tigers came back from an early deficit only to let the game slip away in the fourth quarter.
Oxy trailed 3-0 early in the first, but battled back to eventually take a 4-3 lead midway through the second.
Junior Koral Gill notched her first hat trick of the season with a three-goal effort in the game.
The Wildcats managed to score on their final two possessions of the second quarter and held a 5-4 lead at the break.
After being held scoreless in the third the Tigers could only manage one goal in the final quarter, while Villanova tacked on five more goals to take the 11-5 win.
BOX SCORE 1st 2nd 3rd 4th TOTAL
Occidental 1 3 0 1 5
Villanova 3 2 1 5 11
Oxy Stats:
Goals/Attempts: Gill-3/4, Soot-1/3, Shyba-1/4, Albino-0/2, McClafferty-0/4, Gibbs-0/3, Yasuda-0/1
Assists: McClafferty-2, Soot-1
Steals: Shyba-1, Albino-1, McClafferty-1
Turn-Overs: Soot-2, Gibbs-1, Gill-2, Albino-1, DesCombers-1
Exclusions/Drawn: Descombes-0/1, Shyba-1/0, Albino-0/3, McClafferty-1/1, Wheeler-0/1, Gill-1/0, Gibbs-1/1
Saves/Goals Allowed: Perez-4/4, Munoz-3/7
In Game 3 the Tigers were once again pitted against a top ranked Division I foe in No. 7 Cal State Northridge.
The Matadors used a 9-0 run in the first half to put the game away early on their way to a 17-2 victory over Oxy.
The Tigers got on the board in the third when freshman standout Carly Zurcher converted a power play for her third goal of the season.
Although Oxy was able to out draw CSUN by a two to one margin in power plays, the Tigers only converted two of their eight opportunities which led to the limited offensive output.
BOX SCORE 1st 2nd 3rd 4th TOTAL
Occidental 0 0 1 1 2
CSUN 5 4 3 5 17
Oxy Stats:
Goals/Attempts: Zurcher-1/2, Gibbs-1/3, Soot-0/3, Houck-0/1, Iboa-Garcia-0/1, Gill-0/1, Albino-0/2, Shyba-0/1, Kosin-0/1
Assists: Albino-1
Steals: McClafferty-2, Soot-1
Turn-Overs: Albino-1, Gill-1
Saves/Goals Allowed: Perez-9/5, Munoz-8/6
In their final game of the tournament, the Tigers came out strong against Cal State East Bay, but poor shooting led to an eventual 14-5 loss.
Oxy scored four of its goals in the first quarter and led by one at the break. From there it was all East Bay, as the Pioneers used a stifling press defense to keep Oxy at bay over the next three periods.
Senior Kelsey Shyba led the Oxy attack with two goals and a drawn exclusion.
Senior Lindsay Albino drew a game high six exclusions, while the Tigers as a team out drew the Pioneers 11-3.
BOX SCORE 1st 2nd 3rd 4th TOTAL
Occidental 4 0 1 0 5
CSEB 3 4 4 3 14
Oxy Stats:
Goals/Attempts: Shyba-2/6, Albino-1/4, Zurcher-1/2, Soot-1/1, Gibbs-0/2, Gill-0/2, McClafferty-0/2, Kosin-0/1
Assists: Gill-1
Steals: Albino-1, McClafferty-1, Gibbs-1
Turn-Overs: Albino-3, McClafferty-2, Gibbs-1, Kosin-1
Exclusions/Drawn: Kosin-1/0, Descombes-0/1, Shyba-0/1, Albino-0/6, Akiyama-0/1, Soot-0/2
Saves/Goals Allowed: Perez-2/7, Munoz-6/7
Oxy returns to action next weekend at the Claremont Convergence. The Tigers continue their challenging schedule against four more scholarship programs including top 20 programs No. 11 UC San Diego and No. 13 University of Hawaii.
