For the second weekend the CSUN women’s water polo team traveled on the road as they progressed into their non-conference schedule. The Matadors went out of state, traveling to Indiana University to partake in the Indiana Classic at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center.

Women’s Water Polo

CSUN began their season with a pair of wins at the Beach Invite on Jan. 18 and then headed to Indiana to play the Hoosiers and Salem in a doubleheader on the first day of the Indiana Classic on Jan. 25.

It was the Matadors’ first game of the season vs. against a Division I opponent for the Matadors. For Indiana, it was their season opener, but they didn’t play like it. They took advantage of CSUN’s worst offensive outing of the season and handed the Matadors their first loss in a 19-10 win.

From the first whistle, it was all Indiana as the Hoosiers opened up with a 5-0 lead early in the first quarter of the match. Indiana tacked on another six goals in the second quarter to jump to an 11-5 lead going into intermission. Superstar center Dorottya Telek led the Matadors with five goals, but they couldn’t keep up with the Hoosier’s offensive attack.

The Matadors split the doubleheader and took down Salem, a Division II university, in one of their best offensive games of the season. CSUN scored 14 of their 20 goals in the first half en route to their 20-13 win. Telek slotted six goals, tied for the team-high with CSUN attacker Helena Sandhagen. It was the first of three consecutive games that CSUN scored 20 goals or more.

Heading into day two of the Indiana Classic on Jan. 26, CSUN opened up against Carthage College, a Division III university. Despite conceding the match’s first goal to Carthage, the Matadors had their best defensive game of the season and led 5-1 at the end of the first quarter and wouldn’t find much opposition in the second quarter. CSUN scored three goals in the second quarter to enter intermission with an 8-1 lead. Carthage put up two more goals in the second half as the Matadors picked up the 21-3 win to move to 4-1.

CSUN ended their trip to Indiana on a high note, taking down UC Merced, another Division III university. Telek scored eight goals, including the 300th goal of her career, in the 21-8 win.

She netted the opening goal of the game for her 299th goal, and with 6:38 in the first quarter, Telek scored her 300th goal. Telek sits alone at the top of the program’s record book for career goals scored. The next closest goal scorer in school history has 71 fewer goals in a career than Telek.

UC Merced kept themselves in the match by putting up five goals in the first half, but CSUN still went into the intermission with an 8-5 lead. CSUN exploded for 13 goals in the second half, holding the Bobcats to just three to finish the weekend 3-1 in the Indiana Classic.

Next match: CSUN vs. Azusa Pacific (1-5) on Saturday, Feb. 1.