April 18, 2009

UC Irvine took a 1-0 lead 1:48 into the match as junior Erin Kiene (Fresno/Clovis West HS) put the ‘Eaters on the board first. Alison Pierce would score three unanswered goals to give Cal State Northridge a 3-1 lead with 5-19 remaining in the second period. UCI came back to the match at 4-4 and then again at 5-5 with 4:08 left in the third period. CSUN took a 6-5 lead with 3:11 left in the third on a goal by Renee Gargiulo. A goal by Kirra Kylander in the fourth period and five fourth period saves from keeper Jillian Stapf was all the Matadors would need to hold off the ‘Eaters.

Erin Kiene and junior Kat Plummer (Thousand Oaks HS) each had two goals for the ‘Eaters. Sophomore keeper Lauren Davis (Downey HS) had three saves in the first half and freshman keeper Morgan Vickers (Newport Harbor HS) had six saves in the second half for UCI.

The Anteaters will next play in the Big West Conference Championship in Stockton Friday, April 24^th through Sunday, April 26^th at the Chris Kjeldsen Pool Complex. The Anteaters shared the Big West regular season title with UC Davis and Cal State Northridge, the top three seeds of the Big West Championship will be decided Sunday by a coin toss.