PASADENA, Calif. — The Caltech women's water polo team hosted the No. 8 Macalester College Scots on Tuesday in an early evening showdown at Braun Pool. The matchup served as the Beavers' final non-conference clash of the season as the team shifts its sole focus to teams foes in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC).

Action began just after 5 p.m. and proved to be a defensive battle for the entirety of the 32 minutes, with neither team scoring more than three goals in a single period.

Senior attacker Emma Gurcan (Istanbul, Turkey / Lincoln HS) put through the team's first score on a powerplay situation after receiving the feed from senior defender Riya Shrivastava (Saratoga, Calif. / Lynbrook).

On the very next possession, Gurcan drew an exclusion on a Macalester defender before capitalizing with a goal a few seconds later; senior attacker Tyler Fox (Cos Cobb, Conn. / Greewich) connected with her fellow senior for the goal.

Sophomore goalkeeper Mahi Ravi (Mountain View, Calif. / Saratoga) saved five shots in her 16 first half minutes played.

Fox earned a goal herself later in the game with junior utility Charlotte Zhang (San Diego, Calif. / Torrey Pines) finding her for the team's third goal.

Gurcan earned her third goal of the contest in the final quarter after drawing a penalty shot, rocketing a shot past the goalkeeper for the score. It was not enough, however, to overcome the guests' lead as the closing horn sounded.

Junior goalkeeper Elizabeth Field (Charlottesville, Va. / Monticello) substituted for Ravi in the second half, saving five shots while allowing just four.

Shrivastava recorded two field blocks while first-year attacker Emma Titus (Hood River, Ore. / Hood River Valley) led all players on both teams in steals (four). Gurcan, sophomore utility Maya Dickson (Atlanta, Ga. / North Atlanta) and sophomore attacker Madelyn Gilbert (Clovis, Calif. / Clovid East) each nabbed three steals a piece.

As a team, Caltech notched 15 steals to the Scots' 12.

Gurcan led the game in drawn exclusions, with six; Titus and Gurcan each won a sprint.

Next up for head coach Jon Bonafede and the Beavers is a SCIAC clash at home as the Beavers face the Regals of Cal Lutheran University this Saturday, Mar. 16 at 7 p.m. Cheer on the squad in person and follow along online at gocaltech.com/coverage.

Follow Caltech Water Polo on Instagram and follow Caltech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram.