SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The rain and wind did not stop Pacific women's water polo from earning a pair of victories against Brown and No. 16 San Jose State on Saturday at Sullivan Aquatic Center.
 
The Tigers (7-3) earned an 8-6 victory against the Bears (5-5) before sophomore Dora Alaksza scored the winning goal in the 8-7 win against the Spartans (5-5).
 
"We knew this weekend was going to be a challenging set of games for us," head coach Candice Vorbeck said. "But we battled it out today and came out with two good wins. The team competed for each other, and we're excited to be back in the pool tomorrow."
 
Game 1: No. 13 Pacific 8, Brown 6
 
Pacific earned its first win against Brown since 2011.
 
Dora Alaksza and junior Hila Futorian each led the way with three points on two goals and one assist.
 
Freshman Maja Lizy Dulic made seven stops in net.
 
The Tigers jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period with goals scored by Dora Alaksza, graduate student Hailey Williams and senior Annikah Lillie.
 
The Bears came within 4-3 before halftime and later tied the contest five-all at 5:28 in the third. Pacific responded with back-to-back goals from Dora Alaksza and Futorian to go back up 7-5 in the final minute.
 
Brown brought the score back within one again with 5:40 left in the fourth period, 7-6. Sophomore Noemi Alaksza put the game away with her first goal of the season.
 
Game 2: No. 13 Pacific 8, No. 16 San Jose State 7
 
Pacific extended its winning streak to three against San Jose State.
 
Dora Alaksza led with four goals while Futorian had three points on one goal and two assists.
 
Dulic was unstoppable in goal as she collected a season-high 14 saves.
 
The game went through four ties and one lead change.
 
The contest started as a 1-1 tie before the Spartans registered back-to-back goals to take the 3-1 lead.
 
Futorian found Williams who beat the goalkeeper and put the ball past the net, sparking a 4-0 run that stretched into the second quarter, 5-3.
 
Both teams traded goals into the final four minutes in the first half, but the Tigers took the 6-5 edge.
 
Pacific was held without a goal in the third period while San Jose State notched its lone point to tie the game at 6-all.
 
The fourth period was scoreless till the final 49 seconds when Dora Alaksza dented the twine to break the tie, 7-6. The Spartans tied the game again with 21 seconds left, forcing a 30-second timeout by the Tigers.
 
Out of the timeout, Futorian found Dora Alaksza who scored the winner as the clock ticked down.
 
 "We dominated the game in the first half," said Dora Alaksza. "We battle through the second half making mistakes but not giving up. Our defense was remarkable. We figured out our offense during the game."
 
Up next, Pacific wraps up the Bronco Invitational against Cal State Monterey Bay at 4:45 p.m. on Sunday.
 

Back-??-back Saturday DUBs????#PacificProud #WaterPoloU #DreamBig pic.twitter.com/jdRHW8J9MO

— Pacific Water Polo (@UOPWaterPoloU) February 18, 2024

 
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