California State University at Northridge
#8 San Jose State
No. 9 CSUN Rallies Past No. 8 San Jose State, Falls to No. 1 Stanford
2/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
IRVINE, Calif. -
The No. 9 CSUN Matadors (10-6) split a pair of matches on the first day of the UC Irvine Invitational, coming from behind to defeat No. 8 San Jose State before falling to No. 1 Stanford. The Matadors will enter the second day of competition with a chance to finish as high as fifth at the tournament and will first play at 9:15 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 22 against an opponent that has yet to be determined.
Stanford Recap:
The Matadors were overcome by the Cardinal (10-0) 16-3 on Saturday afternoon. CSUN received a pair of goals from Paula Abellan Garcia and another from Shannon Hovanesian, but strong defense from Stanford and a thorough attack proved too much for the Matadors.
The Cardinal raced out for four goals in the first quarter and repeated the feat in the second, taking an 8-2 lead into halftime. CSUN trailed 11-2 after the third before getting a goal back in the fourth before time expired.
Alexis Elias had two assists and Katie Kammer had one of her own for CSUN in the match. Taitum Herrington recorded two steals and five other Matadors had a takeaway in the contest.
Box Score:
CSUN (10-6) 1-1-0-1 = 3
Stanford (10-0) 4-4-3-5 = 16
Stanford Goal Scorers: Unavailable
CSUN Goal Scorers: Hovanesian (8), Abellan Garcia 2 (5)
Stanford GK Saves: Unavailable
CSUN GK Saves: Davis 4, Van Vugt 4
SJSU Recap:
CSUN rallied for two goals in the fourth quarter and added two in overtime as the No. 9 Matadors (10-5) upended the No. 8 San Jose State Spartans (9-4) 10-9 in the first match at the UC Irvine Invitational. Marisa Young scored four goals and Kelcie Ferreira scored both of CSUN's overtime goals as the Matadors avenged an early season loss to the Spartans.
"The girls showed their true character today in the OT win. We didn't take the lead until the fourth quarter, but we executed our game plan all game and that gave us the opportunities to win," said CSUN head coach Marty Matthies. "It was a great team win and I am extremely proud of our performance. We still have three games to play, but now we have an opportunity to play for the championship."
The match was a clash of evenly matched opponents in an invitational group comprised of four teams ranked in the Top 20. After the first quarter ended with the score tied at 3-3, the Spartans edged ahead with two goals before halftime to lead by a goal.
The Matadors played SJSU level in the third quarter but faced a deficit heading into the final frame. Two goals over the last eight minutes sent the match to overtime, where CSUN scored twice in the opening half of the extra periods.
The Spartans held CSUN scoreless in the second extra period, but only managed one goal as the Matadors clamped down defensively to secure the win.
In addition to another four-goal performance, Young earned three exclusions and had a pair of field blocks in the victory. Ferreira also had four steals, while Kelcy Barott had two goals, four assists and one steal. MacKenzy Fowler and Shannon Hovanesian each had a tally of their own to help the Matadors win their fourth straight.
Box Score:
CSUN (10-5) 3-1-2-2-2-0 = 10
SJSU (9-4) 3-2-2-1-0-1 = 9
SJSU Goal Scorers: Unavailable
CSUN Goal Scorers: Ferreira 2 (16), Barott 2 (25), Young 4 (27), Fowler (10), Hovanesian (7)
SJSU GK Saves: Unavailable
CSUN GK Saves: Davis 14
