No. 3 UCLA Defeats No. 23 Wagner, 15-8

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- No. 3 UCLA (1-0, 0-0 MPSF) opened its season with a win for the 23rd consecutive year as the Bruins posted a 15-8 win over No. 23 Wagner (1-1, 0-0 MAAC) on Friday evening at the UC Santa Barbara Winter Invite at UCSB's Campus Pool. The last time the Bruins dropped a season opener was on Feb. 6, 1999 at Stanford. UCLA improved to 5-0 in the series history.

Senior utility Katrina Drake and freshman attacker Emma Lineback paced the Bruins' offense, each scoring a hat trick. Redshirt senior attacker Maddie Musselman, senior attacker Val Ayala, and freshman utility Nicole Struss added two scores apiece.

Redshirt junior goalkeeper Georgia Phillips got the start in the cage and played the first half, registering nine saves while allowing two goals. Sophomore Sydney Chiang played the entire second half, tallying four stops while surrendering six scores.

Mar Navarro led the Seahawks with four goals on six shots.

PERIOD ONE
> UCLA outscored Wagner 6-1 in the opening period, including the first five goals of the game.
> Senior center Ava Johnson opened the scoring with a goal at two meters (7:43).
> Drake followed with back-to-back goals at set (7:04 and 6:19).
> Freshman attacker Grace Myers scored her first collegiate goal on a counter (5:01).
> Ayala converted a penalty shot drawn by Drake to put the Bruins up 5-0 at the 3:59 mark of the opening period.
> Musselman found the back of the net on her first shot of the season from the front court to end the scoring in the first (2:16).
 
PERIOD TWO
> The Bruins outscored the Seahawks 2-1 in the second period.
> Ayala netted her second of the game on another penalty shot that she drew (4:32).
> After a goal by Wagner (3:17), Lineback scored her first collegiate goal on a power play (1:14).
> UCLA led 8-2 at the break.
 
PERIOD THREE
> The Bruins outscored Wagner 4-3 in the third frame.
> Four different Bruins scored one goal in the third, starting off with a strike from the front court by Drake to complete her hat trick (6:09).
> Junior attacker Brooke Doten scored her first of the year from front court (4:10) to put UCLA up 10-3.
> Lineback converted a penalty shot drawn by Johnson (3:14) to earn her second goal of the game, giving the Bruins an 11-3 advantage.
> Navarro scored two of her four goals in the third quarter for Wagner.
> Musselman added her second goal of the game on a counter (0:49) and UCLA would take a 12-5 lead into the fourth quarter.

PERIOD FOUR
> Both teams battled to a 3-3 draw in the fourth period to provide the 15-8 final score.
> Struss scored both of her goals from two meters in the final stanza (6:03 and 0:36).
> Lineback converted another penalty shot drawn by junior center Layne Anzaldo (5:08) to complete her hat trick.

UP NEXT
The Bruins will play two more games tomorrow at the UCSB Winter Invite. The first game will be against No. 21 California Baptist University at 1:30 p.m. PT, followed by a game at 5:00 p.m. PT against OUAZ (Ottawa University Arizona). Neither game will have a live stream or live stats. There are no tickets on sale to the public at this tournament.

No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 23 Wagner (UCSB Winter Invite)

6x5 - UCLA - 1/6 - WAG - 2/12
Penalties - UCLA - 4/5 - WAG - 3/3

WAG Goals: Mar Navarro 4, Sofia Diaz Alvarez 1, Malia Josephson 1, Abbey Simshauser 1, Pip Nash 1
WAG Saves: Kristina Bell 5, Mikaela Wells 3

UCLA Goals: Katrina Drake 3, Emma Lineback 3, Maddie Musselman 2, Val Ayala 2, Nicole Struss 2, Grace Myers 1, Ava Johnson 1, Brooke Doten 1
UCLA Saves: Georgia Phillips 9, Sydney Chiang 4