PASADENA, Calif. (Mar. 22, 2022) - The women's water polo team hosted the Presidents of Washington and Jefferson College (Washington, Pa.) on a warm spring afternoon in Braun Pool. After a highly competitive game that went to triple overtime, the Beavers came up one goal short, falling 9-10. 
 
In a close-fought match with never more than a two-goal difference between the teams, the Beavers fought hard to take down the visitors from Western Pennsylvania. Sophomore Tyler Fox (Cos Cob, Conn. / Greenwich) led the Beavers offensively with 11 shots on the afternoon. Fox would go to score four goals and make one assist, contributing to five out of the nine points for Caltech. Freshman Sophia Slora (Wenatchee, Wash. Wenatchee) also proved an essential part of the game with her three scoring assists. Sophomore Emma Gurcan (Portland, Ore. / Lincoln) made eight shots on goal, with two finding the back of the cage, and assisted two additional goals. Moreover, Gurcan was a force in the pool, drawing six exclusion fouls out of the nine whistled against the Presidents.  

While W&J got on the scoreboard first and pushed their lead out 2-0 in the first period, Gurcan's first goal with 2:55 remaining in the first period brought the game within one point. The Presidents quickly answered this threat, pushing their lead to 3-1 at the end of the first period. Fox began her outstanding afternoon by scoring a goal and moving the Beavers back within one point with 7:10 remaining in the second period. After much back-and-forth action, the teams went into half time with the Beavers trailing 2-3.  
 
After the intermission, Fox scored her second consecutive goal and tied the game at 3-3. With 1:23 left in the third period, sophomore Riya Shrivastava (Saratoga, Calif. / Lynbrook) scored and Caltech had their first lead at 4-3. The fireworks began as the two teams entered the fourth period. The Presidents tied up the game 4-4 with a player advantage goal, but Gurcan was quickly fouled and received a 5m shot due to the infraction. The sophomore skipped the ball into the goal and pushed the Beavers ahead 5-4 with 6:25 remaining in regulation. W&J quickly countered, tying the game 5-5, then took a 6-5 lead with just over four minutes remaining. The Presidents took advantage of an exclusion foul and with the extra player advantage scored a goal at 2:15, increasing their lead to 7-5. With 1:32 on the clock, Fox scored her third goal of the afternoon and brought the score to 6-7. With 25 seconds remaining in the fourth, junior Amanda Piyapanee (South Lake, Texas / Carroll) buried a shot from the wing, tying the game 7-7 where the fourth quarter would end. 
 
In overtime, the teams played two, three-minute periods where the Beavers took the lead 8-7 with Fox's fourth goal at 0:48 in the first session. W&J tied the game 8-8 with 24 seconds remaining, only to have Yuying Lin fire and score a shot with eight seconds remaining in the first overtime frame. The Beavers led 9-8 going into the second overtime session, but the Presidents tied the score once more with 23 seconds remaining. After entering sudden death where the first team to score wins, the Beavers fell to the Presidents just 30 seconds into the frame, resulting in a final score of 9-10. 
 
Head Coach Jon Bonafede and the Beavers are back in action on Wednesday, March 23, when they host Occidental College at 7:00 pm. Visit www.GoCaltech.com for the contest's livestream, live stats, and results.