IRVINE, Calif. - The Concordia women's water polo team capsized the visiting Fresno Pacific Sunbirds in a thrilling overtime match. The Golden Eagles then fell to Pomona-Pitzer later in the afternoon.
Against the Sunbirds, the Golden Eagles captured a 7-5 lead within the first period.
The Green and the Gold had three consistent offensive advantages--Hannah Edwards who went 5-0 in the sprints and freshmen duo Sierrah Ferguson and Anna Tyukasz with six goals apiece.
Coming out of the half, Fresno Pacific started closing the gap and applying pressure to CUI's offense.
In the fourth period, Emeline Smiley scored the twelfth goal for Concordia and successfully tied it in the final minutes. Fresno Pacific kept missing their opportunities to score and the clock winded down to the final minute.
A collective gasp sounded as Anna Tyukasz found the back of the net with thirty seconds remaining. But, in one final moment, Fresno Pacific's goalie exited the cage, took a shot at the goal, and sent it all into overtime.
Ferguson and Tyukasz both got a goal in the beginning of overtime, but the Sunbirds didn't give up. Jaden Soto was relentless in the cage and collected 13 saves overall. Allyson Corbett held FPU back from a win, by creating a goal of her own to tie it 16-16.
In double overtime, Concordia blazed ahead with two goals and held the competition to zero. Mattie Herzog took a rebound from her first shot off the goalkeeper, spun and scored her first goal of the day. Sharing the wealth, Herzog found Anna Tyukasz for the game-winner to seal the win 18-16.
The second match of the day wasn't as exciting as the first. The Golden Eagles ultimately fell to Pomona-Pitzer 3-15. Sierrah Ferguson offensively led the team with two goals along with Hailee Pike who collected her first goal of the season.
NEXT UP: The women's water polo team is back at Northwood High School on Saturday, April 12 for a showdown against Biola. The match starts at 1:30 pm.
CLICK HERE for the Full Concordia women's water polo schedule.
