LA JOLLA, Calif. - Concordia University Irvine went toe-to-toe with DI opponent Wagner University in their first appearance at the NCAA Tournament and proved they belonged on the national stage.

The WWPA Champions were in a dogfight with the Seahawks who put the Golden Eagles in an early 4-0 hole. But CUI fought back to draw within one on two different occasions and the contest went down to the wire.

CUI was within 8-7 after three periods and had the ball down 9-8 halfway through the fourth after a goal by Kennedy Brubaker. But a couple whistles negated goals that would have swung the momentum in Concordia's favor and to Wagner's credit, the Seahawks answered with a timely goal themselves to push the lead back to two.

Sierrah Ferguson scored three goals and Anna Tyukasz found the back of the net twice to lead the CUI offense.

Ferguson and Alexa De Villiers scored the first goals of the night for Concordia. It was 7-4 Wagner at the break after Tyukasz and Ferguson cashed in during the second period. 

CUI controlled the third period and outscored Wagner 3-1 in that stanza to pull within one. Senior Hannah Edwards converted a 5-meter penalty shot sandwiched around goals again by Tyukasz and Ferguson.

Ultimately, the Green and Gold ran out of time for their comeback to be completed before the final whistle and Wagner held on for a 10-8 victory.

WWPA Goalkeeper of the Year and First Team All-Conference selection Jaden Soto was superb again in goal as well. The Murrieta, Calif. native collected a dozen saves and multiple steals. She kept CUI in the game and the Golden Eagles were able to keep clawing away at the Wagner lead.

CUI concludes its best season in program history with a 20-10 record. There were a lot of firsts that this special group accomplished under head coach Casey Greenawalt:

- First WWPA Regular Season Title (in first season competing as a new league member)
- First Time As WWPA Conference Tournament Champions 
- First Trip to NCAA Tournament 
- First Time Ranked No. 22 in CWPA National Top 25 Rankings
- First Time With 20 wins in a season
- First Time With Six Members on an All-Conference Squad who were all Non-seniors

Congrats to the 2026 squad for such a memorable run!

CLICK HERE for the full CUI women's water polo schedule