The No. 10 CSUN water polo team (19-5) cruised through Colorado State (4-11) and had a close game against Redlands (3-7) in a doubleheader at Redlands University on Sunday, to give them an eight-game win streak.
“It was our last opportunity to play all the players before conference play and to see what works together,” CSUN head coach Marcelo Leonardi said.
CSUN vs. Colorado State
In their first game the Matadors matched up with Colorado State were they defeated the Rams 11-1.
“We came out strong defensively, which allowed us to hold Colorado State to only a goal,” said senior and utility player Alison Peirce, who had three goals in Redlands.
CSUN started the scoring and had a 3-0 lead after the first period, and added to its lead three more goals to make it 6-1 at the half. However, the Matadors didn’t stop there, adding five more goals in the second half to put the game out of reach.
Colorado State’s only goal came in the second quarter.
CSUN vs. Redlands
In game two of Sunday’s doubleheader the Matadors squeezed out a 10-8 victory over the Bulldogs, who almost made a comeback in the fourth quarter, when they scored four goals.
“Redlands was able to capitalize on its scoring opportunities and we had a defensive lapse, but our team responded with one more goal with two minutes left,” Leonardi said.
Redlands was on a three-game winning streak after losing its first six games. In those three wins the Bulldogs combined for 53 goals and held their opponents to 11 goals.
The Matadors again started with their offense scoring three goals in the first quarter to give them a 3-2 lead. In the second quarter they scored five goals before halftime to give them a 8-2 lead. The Bulldogs scored six goals in the second half and held the Matadors to only two goals in the second half, but CSUN defense was able to stop the Redlands offense serge.
Matador attacker Whitney Delgado has a team-leading 50 goals in 23 games to put her in the top-ten single season scoring in CSUN history. The Matadors have shared the wealth on offense with seven different players scoring this weekend.
CSUN’s goalies Jillian Stapf and Nicole Concialdi had a combined 10 saves.
The Matadors will have this weekend to rest before they get back to practice and prepare for Big West Conference games starting March 27 against Long Beach State at Northridge.
“We will practice hard as well as watch film to see where we need to adjust to play against Long Beach State and the rest of the conference,” Pierce said.
