Azusa Pacific opened the day with a 13-11 setback against Whittier before falling to Cal State Bakersfield in a nip-and-tuck contest 10-9.

Whittier 13, Azusa Pacific 11

Despite a furious third quarter rally by the Cougars, Whitter was able to hold on for the two-goal victory.

The Poets scored nine of the first 12 goals as they held a five-goal advantage late in the second quarter. The Cougars started their rally with 12 seconds left in the frame when Britt Harris scored her second goal of the period.

Scoresheet (PDF)

Despite trailing 9-4, Azusa Pacific owned the third quarter as they began their march back towards the lead. A Harris goal then two goals by Annaliese Batcheller as well as net finders by Alba Espinar and Adrienne Yao gave the Cougars a 5-1 scoring edge in the frame.

Down just 10-9 heading into the final eight minutes, the Cougars put themselves in position to grab a win. However Whittier scored three unanswered goals in less than five minutes to take a four-goal edge. Ryllie Haynes and Harris scored the final goals of the game but Azusa Pacific couldn't get a possession to tie the score late.

The extra-person attack was big for both teams as Whittier went 6-for-9 with the extra attacker while the Cougars scored on five of their seven opportunities.

Harris' four goals led the way for the Cougars offensively while Erica Marquez blocked 10 shots in front of the cage.

Cal State Bakersfield 10, Azusa Pacific 9

A back-and-forth affair from the start, the Cougars dropped a heartbreaker to the 21st ranked team in the nation.

Scoresheet (PDF)

The Cougars started well as two goals by Britt Harris and Megan Myers staked their team to a 3-1 quick lead. The two-goal spread less than four minutes into the game provided a snapshot of what was to come as it was largest lead for either team.

Trailing 3-2 heading into the second quarter, the Roadrunners won the frame by a 3-1 margin to take a 5-4 lead at the game's halfway point.

A tit-for-tat third and fourth quarter ensued. An Ashley Taylor goal started the period as the Cougars knotted the game at 5-5. During the rest of the stanza the Roadrunners took leads of 6-5 and 7-6 only to see a feisty Azusa Pacific team tie it up each time. Cal State Bakersfield took an 8-7 lead into the final period when Tancy Aldridge scored with 75 seconds left in the third period.

During the final frame the Roadrunners took a two-goal lead of their own on the first goal of the fourth. Myers and Harris responded for the Cougars to tie the score at 9-9. The game winning goal came when Ruby Versfeld scored with 4:58 left in the contest as the defense's stood tall for both teams down the stretch.

Harris had her second hat trick of the day with three goals to pace the Azusa Pacific offense. In front the cage Katie Margot had nine saves.