THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The Caltech women's water polo team faced off against Cal Lutheran on Saturday in a battle of two nationally-ranked programs. It was just the second road game versus a conference foe for the No. 10-ranked Beavers, who fought valiantly versus the hosting Regals. Cal Lutheran tied for third in the most recent Division III national poll.

The home squad would get off to a quick 4-0 lead in the contest's first quarter, but Caltech put an end to that run as the second period began. It was first-year center attacker Mia Mutadich found the back of the net first for the Beavers, scoring at the 6:41 mark after getting fed the ball from first-year center defender Maya Dickson.

With the Beavers sitting at just one goal as the halftime buzzer sounded, the team would completely turn it around in the second half after finding their groove in the third period. A powerplay goal by first-year driver Madelyn Gilbert at the 6:46 mark gave the Beavers their second score; this was soon followed by a goal from junior driver Emma Gurcan at the 5:27 mark.

Mutadich would give Caltech their third straight goal with 4:24 to go in the period, putting them within just three goals of Cal Lu as the score became 7-4. The Regals went on to put some more goals on the board, though the Beavers were not done yet as Gurcan and Mutadich scored again within the final 1:03 of the third period. The two players would find the back of the net yet again in the game's final eight minutes of action.

Together, the pair combined for seven of the team's eight goals; Gurcan's four goals led all players and ties her career high. Gilbert led all players in assists with three.

After the match, head coach Jon Bonafede was pleased with how his team performed.

"We played a good all-around game," said Bonafede. "Mia and Emma were very dangerous for us and scored some great goals. Cal Lu made it difficult with an all-out press but we were able to find some traction in the second half ... We hope to take the lessons learned from this game into [Claremont-Mudd-Scripps] on Wednesday." 

The team's Wednesday matchup versus Claremont-Mudd-Scripps will be held at home, with action to begin at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on the SCIAC Network.