Out of the three games the 18th-ranked Cal State Northridge women’s water polo team played from March 9 to March 12, the Matadors were able to pull out only one victory against Pacific, but lost to No. 9 San Jose State and No. 6 Cal Berkeley.
Against the San Jose State Spartans, CSUN’s sophomore 2 meter Christine Cruz, freshman driver Jessica Coy, and sophomore 2 meter Allison Brookes each had two goals for the Matadors as they lost 7-6.
CSUN led the match 3-2 after the first period until San Jose State junior utility Rachel Rhodes scored the only go in the second period, tying the game at 3-3 at the end of the half.
In the second half, the Matadors were held scoreless in the third quarter. But CSUN was able to net three goals in the fourth period, the last by Coy with 46 seconds left to tie the score at 6-6.
Spartan sophomore 2 meter Sarah Hovland scored the game-winning goal with 18 seconds left in the game, giving San Jose State the 7-6.
For the Spartans, Rhodes, Hovland, freshman 2 meter Juliet Moss and senior driver Katie Morgan each had two goals.
CSUN then kicked off its two-game Northern California road trip against the Pacific Tigers. The Matadors defeated Pacific 12-3, making it CSUN’s first victory of the season in the MPSF conference.
The Tigers took an early lead at the 5:01 mark in the first period. Junior driver Jennifer Macdonnell tied the score at one 12 seconds later, but Pacific finished with a 2-1 lead at the end of the quarter.
In the second period, the Matadors scored six goals, including four of them coming from Brookes. Macdonnell and senior 2 meter Heather van Hemert scored a goal in the period as the Matadors took a 7-2 lead.
CSUN held the Tigers scoreless in the third as they widened their lead to 10-2. Brookes, van Hemert and Coy each chipped in a goal during the period.
The Matadors sealed the victory in the final period with two goals from Coy and Brookes. Pacific’s sophomore driver Jocelyn Gray added one final goal for the Tigers, who were unable to catch up to CSUN’s scorching lead, fell to 12-3.
For the match, Brookes led the Matador attack with six goals. Grey led the Pacific attack with two goals.
Their final match of the road trip turned out to be a very displeasing one as they lost to the California Golden Bears 12-3.
Cal knotted a 2-1 lead after the first period on goals by senior driver Brittani Llorente and senior driver Katie Card.
CSUN’s first goal was netted by Brookes at the 5:47 mark of the second quarter. Cal, however, exploded for five goals, giving the Golden Bears a 7-2 advantage at the end of the half.
This lead proved to be fatal for the Matadors’ chances of coming back. Cal junior 2 meter Elsie Windes scored four goals in the match.
Following Windes was senior driver Holly Farlin, who netted two goals for the Golden Bears.
Van Hemert scored two goals in the second and third periods, while senior goalie Graziella Caredda tallied 11 saves between the pipes.
With the loss, the Matadors fall to 6-11 and 1-6 in MPSF conference play.
The Matadors will take off to Michigan to play in the Wolverine Invitational March 18-19. CSUN’s next home match will be April 8 against UCSB.
Charles Keeranan can be reached at sports_sundial@csun.edu.
