PASADENA, Calif. – Caltech Women's Water Polo hosted the Scots of Macalester College Monday evening, emerging as the victors after a back-and-forth thriller.

The visitors received votes in the Mar. 8 Collegiate Water Polo Association Top 10 poll and came looking for another win against the Beavers after a 9-3 result in their home pool last month.

Elizabeth Field started in goal for Caltech, and Amanda Piyapanee won the opening sprint on another perfect 4-for-4 day for swim-offs. The Beavers immediately began pressuring on offense, forcing the Scots' goalkeeper to make several tough saves. While Macalester struck first at 5:18 in the first quarter following a Caltech turnover, Mia Mutadich knotted the game at 1-1 with a powerplay goal off Tyler Fox's assist.

The Scots netted two more before the Beavers had an answer early in the second quarter, this time Madelyn Gilbert feeding Maya Dickson for another Caltech powerplay goal after Emma Gurcan drew an exclusion against the Macalester defense. Gilbert found Dickson open again less than a minute later, Maya firing and scoring to tie the game again at 3-3. Dickson then responded to the Scots' fourth goal with her third, tying the game again at four apiece with an assist from Piyapanee.

Next it was Mutadich's turn to score a pair, putting Caltech ahead by two with 1:52 left in the half. Taking over goalkeeping duties as scheduled in the second quarter and ultimately finishing the game, Sophia Slora saved a last-second shot to preserve the Beavers' 6-4 lead heading into halftime.

While the Beavers were unable to convert on another Macalester exclusion early in the third, Gurcan found the net by herself in the second minute of the period to extend her team's lead to three goals. Three of the last three goals in the quarter belonged to the Scots, though, and they trailed the Beavers by just one heading into the final frame.

Macalester tied the score with an early goal after Caltech couldn't get a shot off in their first possession of the fourth quarter, and then a successful five-meter penalty shot put the visitors back on top 9-8. Gurcan scored yet another powerplay goal to tie the score just 17 seconds later, making it a 9-9 game with 4:50 left. Turnovers and offensive fouls ruled the next couple minutes before Macalester claimed a 10-9 lead at the 2:12 mark. But 12 seconds later, Gurcan drew a five-meter penalty and Dickson found the cage with her ensuing penalty shot, tying the game at 10-10 with two minutes to play.

Finally, the Beavers completed the incredible comeback as Dickson assisted Gilbert on the game's final goal with 1:14 remaining, igniting the home crowd and the Caltech bench. The Beavers drew their 10th and final exclusion against the Scots in the waning seconds after a pivotal steal by Fox. Getting the ball back after an unsuccessful shot, the Beavers just held possession to run out the clock and seal the victory.

"I'm really impressed by how this team keeps getting better every single game," Head Coach Jon Bonafede said. "It was great to have Maya and Mia — two of our first-years — really have amazing performances to help contribute to this win. This might be the best win in my career here with the women's team, and this win should build their confidence for the games we have coming up. I believe in them, I see their potential, but hopefully after today they're starting to see it as well."

The Beavers are back in the pool Tuesday evening to face a tough Connecticut College team, starting at 5 p.m. Watch live at https://sciacnetwork.com/caltech and follow the team on Instagram.