No. 1 UCLA Advances to NCAA Semifinals
BERKELEY, Calif. -- No. 1 UCLA (24-0) advanced to the Semifinals of the 2024 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship with a 17-7 win over 17th-ranked Wagner (30-5) on Friday afternoon at California's Spieker Aquatics Complex. With the win, UCLA improved to 6-0 all-time against the Seahawks.
UCLA had nine different players score in the contest, paced by hat tricks from sophomore Anna Pearson and graduate student Hannah Palmer. The Bruins had four other players score multiple goals as freshman Natasha Kieckhafer, sophomore Taylor Smith, and juniors Molly Renner and Nicole Struss each scored twice. Palmer added an assist to be the game's leading scorer with four points.
Freshman Lauren Steele got the start in the cage and played the first three quarters, recording 16 saves while surrendering four goals with a save percentage of 80.0 percent. Senior Sydney Chiang came on in relief for the fourth quarter and allowed three goals while making four stops.
UCLA never trailed in the contest and opened the scoring with a scored from Pearson from two meters off an assist from sophomore Lily Gess (7:44). After a goal by Wagner, the Bruins scored three straight to break the game open and were never threatened again. Palmer would score back-to-back goals on a penalty shot (5:26) and a power play strike (3:13), followed by a penalty conversion from Renner (2:32) to push the lead to 4-1. After a score form the Seahawks, the Bruins ended the period with three more goals to build a 7-2 lead at the end of the first period. Pearson scored her second (1:15), followed by the first from Struss (0:37) and the third from Palmer (0:21) after she got a steal.
The Bruins won the second period, 4-1, to take an 11-3 lead into the break. UCLA pushed its consecutive goals streak to six by scoring the first three goals of the second period. Renner scored her second on a power play (7:34), Pearson scored her third from two meters (6:47) and Struss netted her second on a power play (5:54) to push the lead to 10-2. After a goal by Wagner, freshman Becca Melanson scored on a skip shot (4:00) to end the scoring in the first half.
UCLA would win the third period, 3-1, to build a 14-4 advantage heading into the final stanza. Smith scored both of her goals back-to-back with a power play score at 7:27 and a strike from the front court at 6:53 to make it 13-3. After a score by Wagner, senior Malia Allen scored from the front court off a feed from Palmer (0:04) to end the scoring in the third.
Both teams drew to a 3-3 tie in the fourth to provide the 17-7 final. Senior Anneliese Miller opened the scoring in the fourth with a power play goal (7:38). Kieckhafer scored the final two goals by the Bruins (4:01 and 1:39) to put UCLA up 17-5. Wagner scored the final two goals of the game.
UP NEXT: The Bruins will face the defending NCAA Champions, No. 4 Stanford, in the first Semifinal at 2:00 p.m. PT on Saturday, May 11.
No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 17 Wagner (NCAA Championship - Quarterfinals - Game 24)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| No. 17 Wagner | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| No. 1 UCLA | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 17 |
6x5 - UCLA - 5/8 - WAG - 0/4
Penalties - UCLA - 2/2 - WAG - 1/2
WAG Goals: Mar Navarro 2, Carlota Alonso 2, Maggie Pike 1, Casey Taylor 1, Magali Ogg 1
WAG Saves: Francesca Sena 3
UCLA Goals: Hannah Palmer 3, Anna Pearson 3, Taylor Smith 2, Natasha Kieckhafer 2, Molly Renner 2, Nicole Struss 2, Becca Melanson 1, Anneliese Miller 1, Malia Allen 1
UCLA Saves: Lauren Steele 16, Sydney Chiang 4