PASADENA, Calif. — The Caltech women's water polo team faced off against the No. 4 University of La Verne Leopards on Wednesday in a thrilling evening clash at Braun Pool. The Beavers put up one of their strongest performances of the year, highlighted by a buzzer-beating goal in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime.

Action began just after 7 p.m. and it was La Verne who scored the opening goal, though Caltech answered right back via a quick score from sophomore center Mia Mutadich (London, U.K. / Notting Hill and Earling).

Two possessions later, senior attacker Emma Gurcan (Istanbul, Turkey / Lincoln HS) found Mutadich moments after the center drew an exclusion, firing a shot at the back of the net for her second straight goal.

Mutadich made it three a little over a minute later Gurcan again found her teammate inside for another score to make it a 3-2 contest. Gurcan and Mutadich connected for a third time at the 1:57 mark to tie the game up at 4-4.

Sophomore utility Maya Dickson (Atlanta, Ga. / North Atlanta) scored with 20 seconds remaining in the quarter to tie the game at 5-5 before the period expired.

It was another even quarter for the two teams in the second as both squads totaled three goals, with one score coming from sophomore attacker Madelyn Gilbert (Clovis, Calif. / Clovis East) off the assist from Gurcan before Gurcan scored after receiving the feed from Gilbert. Gilbert again found Gurcan for a goal on their next score on a powerplay situation after Mutadich drew an exclusion.

Senior attacker Tyler Fox (Cos Cobb, Conn. / Greenwich) earned her first goal of the night after halftime as she found the back of the net at the 6:00 mark of the third. Three possessions later, Gurcan added another score after receiving the feed from Gilbert.

Down 11-10 entering the final quarter, Caltech needed to outscore the guests by at least one to send the game to overtime. Gurcan scored on Caltech's first offensive possession before senior defender Riya Shrivastava (Saratoga, Calif. / San Dieguito Academy) found Mutadich for a score at 4:57.

With under 40 seconds to play and the Beavers down 14-12, Mutadich produced another massive drawn exclusion to give Caltech the 6-on-5 advantage; the team took advantage of the numbers as Shrivastava found Dickson at 21 seconds to put Caltech within one at 14-13.

With the shot clock turned off and the Leopards up one with possession, Caltech needed to force a turnover to gain back the ball. An intense 1-on-1 defensive showing from Gurcan forced La Verne into a ball under, giving Caltech possession with just three seconds remaining. Gurcan quickly fired it to Mutadich on the inside, who drew an exclusion with one second on the clock. The center turned and found Fox on the left wing, who caught and immediately fired a shot into the goal as the buzzer sounded, sending the contest to overtime at 14-14 and electrifying the home fans.

No team scored in the first overtime period before La Verne scored twice in the second; Dickson added a powerplay goal with 1:35 to go but they could not find a second goal before time expired.

Mutadich led the team with a season-high five goals; she also notched season highs in points (six) and steals (two).

Gurcan led the way in assists with a season-high four and scored four goals for a career-high eight points to lead all players.

The Beavers' 15 goals are the most scored by the group this season; they shot .577 from the field and went 5-for-8 in powerplay shots (.625).

Sophomore goalkeeper Mahi Ravi (Mountain View, Calif. / Saratoga) saved three shots in 16 minutes while junior goalkeeper Elizabeth Field (Charlottesville, Va. / Monticello) came up with six saves in just over 21 minutes.

Next up for head coach Jon Bonafede and the team is a road matchup against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges this Saturday, Mar. 21 at 11 a.m. Follow the game online at gocaltech.com/coverage.

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