'Roos Split with Cal Lutheran and Caltech to Finish Weekend Roadtrip

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Austin College women's water polo team dropped a 13-9 game against Cal Lutheran before bouncing back with a 14-8 victory over Caltech on Saturday, as the 'Roos wrapped up their weekend trip to California and brought their overall record to 3-7 on the year.

Austin College found itself in a 5-2 hole after the opening quarter in the day's first game against Cal Lutheran, heading into halftime trailing 7-4. Cal Lutheran's lead grew to 11-6 in the third, and CLU was leading 12-7 with seven minutes left in the game before Austin College started a fourth quarter comeback bid. 

The 'Roos managed to cut it to 12-9 following a Mikayla Arizmendi score with 1:26 to play, but that's as close as they'd get down the stretch with Cal Lutheran finding the back of the cage once more 16 seconds later to put the game away and make it a 13-9 final. Austin College had nine different players score once each, with Bianca Gallegos, Morgan Evans, Joslyn Dimitri, Lexy Hulse, Ashley Chand, Mikhaela Torres, Camila Diarte, and Sophia King each putting one in the net.

The team's second game of the day saw Caltech grab an early 2-0 lead before Gallegos got the 'Roos on the board, and that ended up being the first of four straight tallies as Austin College went on top 4-2, wrapping up the opening quarter with a 4-3 lead. Austin College's lead grew to 7-4 at halftime, and the margin expanded to 10-6 heading into the final eight minutes of action. 

The 'Roos put the game away with a big fourth quarter that saw four shots find the back of the net, making it a 14-8 final, with Ashley Easley earning the win in goal while making eight saves. Torres scored four times to lead the 'Roos, while Gallegos and Chand each scored three times and Dimitri, McKenna Malone, Clara Koenig, and Caroline Armstrong each tallied once.