Anna Pearson and the Bruins were staring down the barrel of their second loss of the season – behind a score with 7:44 to play Saturday.

But back-to-back goals from the junior utility in 23 seconds turned the tables.

Leading for just the final two minutes and 35 seconds of the game, No. 3 UCLA women’s water polo (8-1, 1-0 MPSF) earned a 16-15 victory over No. 6 UC Irvine (3-5) at Anteater Aquatic Complex in Irvine, California.

“I was just thinking about all the hard work that we put in every single day,” Pearson said. “Knowing that I can fall back on that to kind of help us finish the game on top, and just trusting in my teammates.”

Despite multiple turnovers and an exclusion penalty, redshirt junior attacker Emma Lineback opened the scoring for UCLA seconds into the first quarter. Following a penalty shot by junior center Bia Mantellato, the Bruins held steady at 2-2.

However, the Anteaters capitalized on several turnovers to maintain a steady lead. A spark from a power-play goal wasn’t enough to overcome a 4-0 Anteater run, and the Bruins trailed 7-4 at the end of the first period.

“I can’t remember last time we gave seven balls in the first quarter,” said coach Adam Wright. “It wasn’t good, but at the same time, we saw a lot of good individual performances come out over the course of the next three quarters.”

After an Anteater goal opened the second frame, sophomore utility Sienna Green responded with a score a minute and a half into the period.

Sophomore goalkeeper Joey Niz replaced fellow sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Steele after the latter allowed eight goals on 11 shots, but UC Irvine attacker Kennedy East found the back of the net anyway while UCLA went without a score for 5:21.

However, a penalty goal by Pearson, followed by a last-second shot from Lineback, put the Bruins within two at the half.

“We didn’t come out as strong as we could, and we knew that right after the first half, it was really important for us to move on from the mistakes that we made, keep pushing forward,” Niz said. “We were reminding ourselves that the game’s not over till the very end.”

In the third quarter, Pearson scored on a power play to tie the game at 10. The Bruins continued their strong comeback, narrowing the gap to just one goal heading into the final quarter.

Across the rest of the period, the Bruins were neck-and-neck with the Anteaters, keeping the game tied. However, a late turnover allowed UC Irvine to regain a one-goal lead heading into the final frame.

After Pearson’s pair of goals gave the Bruins the lead in the fourth quarter, Mantellato scored the game-winner off a penalty shot.

Niz played a key role in the victory, making 12 saves and limiting UC Irvine to only two goals in the fourth quarter.

“To throw Joey in there in the second quarter, and for her to do what she did, was really great,” Wright said “It means that we have depth.”

In their previous matchup against the Anteaters on Feb. 1, the Bruins led in every quarter and cruised to a 17-7 victory. However, Saturday’s match proved to be UCLA’s closest contest this season.

The Bruins will remain in Irvine for the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, beginning Friday.

As UCLA approaches the midway point in its season, Pearson said it’s just about remaining tough.

“I think we all had to come together and figure out a way how to get the job done,” Pearson said. “It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done, so I think that says a lot about our group.”