Bucknell University
#5 UC Irvine
Bucknell Women's Water Polo Wraps up Trip to California with Pair of Losses to Ranked Foes
3/17/2007 8:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
March 17, 2007
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - The Bucknell women's water polo team wrapped up a busy six-game trip to California with a pair of losses to ranked teams on Saturday as it fell to No. 5 UC Irvine 15-6 and to No. 19 Cal State Northridge 13-8. The Bison completed their trip west 3-3 with all three losses to ranked foes. Overall, Bucknell is now 11-12 with nine of the losses coming against ranked teams.
UC Irvine (13-6) jumped out to a quick 10-2 halftime lead in the first game before the Bison fought back and were only outscored 5-4 in the second half.
Shana Palencia (Glendale, Calif./Hoover), who has cemented her spot in the starting lineup recently, equaled Meagan Gins (Albuquerque, N.M./Valley) for the Bucknell team lead with two goals apiece against the Anteaters. Gins, who added another goal in the nightcap against the Matadors, now has 49 goals this season, just 21 shy of her own school record of 70 with at least nine games to play.
Mallory Sullivan (Tulare, Calif./Tulare Western) played strong on the defensive end with four steals. She also scored one goal and dished out an assist.
Freshman Alison Carter (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor) got the third start of her career in goal and made five saves. With the 15 goals UC Irvine netted, Carter saw her save percentage dip below 50 percent for the first time this season (31 saves, 33 goals allowed).
Bucknell played tough against Cal State Northridge (9-11) and nearly pulled off the upset, but the contest started a mere two hours after the completion of the game with UC Irvine and the Bison ran out of gas. In fact, Bucknell and Cal State Northridge were tied at 7-7 at the conclusion of the third quarter, but the Matadors outscored the Bison 6-1 in the final period.
Jennifer Swoyer (Erie, Pa./McDowell) tallied a team-high three goals off the bench against Cal State Northridge, while Elizabeth Jensen (San Mateo, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep) added two to bring her to within eight of her career-high figure of 46.
Mandy Bynum (San Jose, Calif./Leland) returned to her customary spot in goal and stopped nine shots to give her 893 in her career as she broke the school record of 892 held by Lindsay Chesterfield since 2003. Bynum has a team-high 151 saves this year.
Despite losing both games, Bucknell was effective in six-on-five situations. Against the Anteaters, the Bison were 3-for-7, while opposite the Matadors they were 5-for-11.
Bucknell is now idle for its longest stretch of the season as it does not return to the pool until a March 30 game at Maryland. The final four games of the regular season are all league contests. The Bison are currently 0-2 in league play.
Game 1
BUCKNELL 1 1 2 2 -6
UC IRVINE 4 6 2 3 -15
Goals: Palencia (2), Gins (2), Jensen, Sullivan.
Assists: Palencia, Kingerski, Swoyer, Jensen, Sullivan.
Ejections Drawn: Gins (3), Rozas (2), Sullivan (2), Rowe.
Saves: Carter (5 svs., 15 ga., 32:00 min.).
Steals: Sullivan (4), Abuhoff (2), Jensen (2), Swoyer, Rozas, Rowe.
Sprints: Palencia (0-2), Jensen (0-2).
Record: 11-11
Game 2
BUCKNELL 2 4 1 1 -8
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE 3 2 2 6 -13
Goals: Swoyer (3), Jensen (2), Palencia, Gins, Rozas.
Assists: Palencia, Gins, Swoyer, Rowe.
Ejections Drawn: Rozas (5), Gins (3), Swoyer (2), Rowe.
Saves: Bynum (9 svs., 13 ga., 32:00 min.).
Steals: Rowe (3), Bynum (2), Palencia, Swoyer, Jensen.
Sprints: Palencia (0-2), Jensen (0-2).
Record: 11-12
