SAN DIEGO, Calif. – LMU women's water polo erased a two-goal second half deficit in Saturday's semifinal matchup against Pacific in the second day of the Golden Coast Conference Tournament. The 17^th-ranked Lions scored three consecutive goals between the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter to take a lead before the 12^th-ranked Tigers scored twice in final 36 seconds of regulation to take the game, 9-7.
 
The Lions jumped ahead with the Marialena Seletopoulou scoring the game's opening goals at 3:41 then 2:59 of the first quarter. The Tigers cut their deficit in half with a goal on the ensuing possession to make it a 2-1 game after the opening eight minutes of play.
 
Kelsey Snelgar added to LMU's lead with the first goal of the first quarter. Pacific scored two unanswered goals to end the half, evening the game at 3-3 entering the break.
 
Thirty seconds into the third quarter, the Tigers took their first lead of the afternoon. The three-seeded Tigers built up a two-goal cushion with another goal at the 4:27 mark, taking advantage of the 6-on-5. Alexandra Akritidou put an end to the scoring run and make it a 5-4 score line with an even strength goal with 2:42 on the clock. The biggest offensive quarter was not done yet as Pacific scored with 1:33 remaining. Mollie Williams scored a needed goal in the closing seconds of the period to make it a 6-to-5 game entering the final eight-minute session.
 
The grad senior Williams showed no quit, tying the game at 6-all with 5:56 showing in the fourth. With just over three minutes remaining, Ruth Arino Ruiz fired a go-ahead goal past the goalkeeper, with Williams positioned in the line of fire to help make sure the ball made it to the back of the cage. Pacific tied the game with 2:11 play, evening the score at 7-all.
 
A late exclusion call gave the Tigers a change to take the lead with less than a minute remaining. Pacific called timeout with 36 seconds remaining, and quickly scored the go-ahead powerplay goal. LMU pulled the goalkeeper for their final offensive possession to add an extra attacker. The Lions were unable to get a final shot off and Pacific launched a ball the full-length of the pool to score on the open net and end the game.
 
The Lions will await the non-advancing team from the second semifinal to matchup against in Saturday's third place game. Action will begin at 11:00 AM from the Aztec Aquaplex.
 
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