Sanchez Ties CSUN Record for Goals in a Game, Matadors Earn Two Wins

NORTHRIDGE, CA---

Led by Madeleine Sanchez's career day, CSUN Water Polo (3-3) earned a pair of victories at the Cal Baptist Tournament on Saturday afternoon. CSUN powered its way to a 13-5 win over Pomona-Pitzer and completed a 16-7 victory against Concordia to close out the day. Sanchez netted nine goals combined in the two matches including scoring seven goals in the opener to tie a school record for tallies in a game. The sophomore tied Chari Christopher (2003), Whitney Delgado (2011) and Lindsy Duncan (2013) for the most goals in a match in program history with the performance.

"Maddie got a lot of experience last year which has helped her this season," said head coach Marty Matthies about Sanchez. "She has stepped into her new role and embraced it. Her percentage is high and she's taking the right shots at the right moments. She's also helping her teammates by putting them in the right positions to score. If she continues to do that, she's going to have a great career."

In the opening game of the day, the Matadors led from start to finish, scoring four goals to Pomona Pitzer's none in the first period. Sanchez struck the net within an 00:18 span, putting CSUN in from 2-0 with 2:23 left to go in the quarter. Amy Yule gave CSUN a 3-0 lead with a tally with under a minute to play and Paula Abellan Garcia connected on her first goal of the season right before the buzzer to cap off a strong end to the period.

The Matadors built a 5-0 lead on Yule's second tally of the contest at the 5:03 mark of the second and Sanchez registered a hat trick for the half with a score less then two minutes later.

Heading into the second half, Sanchez kept leading the charge on the offensive end. She scored three times in the third period including a registering a tally with 1:21 left in the third quarter to give the Matadors a 9-3 lead. With the three scores, Sanchez tied her own personal career-high as she hit the net six times last season against Azusa Pacific (1/31/15).

In the fourth, Sanchez would go on to break her career-high with yet another tally in the fourth to give her seven goals in the match.

Yule also recorded a hat trick in the game with a score in the final period and Miranda Coleman recorded her first career goal in the match.

CSUN: 4-2-4-3 = 13
PP: 0-2-1-2 = 5

CSUN Scorers: Sanchez 7 (17), Yule 3 (10), Abellan Garcia (1), Coleman (1), Pollei (4)
PP Scorers: Edison, Grant, Kahauelelio, Martinez, Castro

CSUN GK Saves: Van Vugt 7 (40)
PP GK Saves: Earwood 7, Stockham 1

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In the afternoon game, the Matadors continued their strong play with another wire-to-wire victory as CSUN received contributions from up and down its roster. Sanchez once again got the Matadors rolling with a score in the opening minute and Alexis Elias gave CSUN a 2-0 lead a minute later. After Concordia trimmed the CSUN advantage to 2-1 with 4:35 left in the period, four-straight goals from four different Matadors pushed the lead to 6-1 after the first.

In the second period, the teams went back-and-forth as the Matadors took an 8-4 lead into halftime. Along with Sanchez, a total of eight different Matadors registered goals in the half. Abellan Garcia, Elias, Lindsey Garcia, McKenzie Pollei, Shannon Hovanesian, Emily Fuller and Taitum Herrington each found the netting to help keep the Matadors in front.

After seeing its lead cut to four just before the end of the second, the Matadors created distance in the third, outscoring the Eagles 5-1. Katelyn Fairchild recorded a pair of tallies and the trio of Coleman, Garcia and Sanchez each chipped in with a goal apiece.

Garcia posted her first career hat trick with a score in the fourth period, and Abellan Garcia and Yule also posted goals as CSUN cruised to the 16-7 win to even its overall record to 3-3.

The Matadors will take two weeks off and return to the pool on Friday, Feb. 13 for a two-day stay at UC San Diego for the Triton Invitational. Both competitors and times of the match are to be determined.

CSUN: 6-2-5-3 = 16
Concordia: 1-3-1-2 = 7

CSUN Scorers: Garcia 3 (4), Abellan Garcia 2 (3), Fairchild 2 (6), Sanchez 2 (19), Yule (11), Coleman (2), Elias (3), Pollei (5), Hovanesian (5), Fuller (2), Herrington (1)
Concordia Scorers: Stumm 3, Varisco 2, Bricks, Eltiste

CSUN GK Saves: Van Vugt 1 (41), Averell 2 (3)
Concordia GK Saves: Knust 9

Sanchez Ties CSUN Record for Goals in a Game, Matadors Earn Two Wins

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Players Mentioned

Paula Abellan Garcia

Miranda Coleman

Alexis Elias

Katelyn Fairchild

Emily Fuller

Lindsey Garcia

Taitum Herrington

Shannon Hovanesian

McKenzie Pollei

Madeleine Sanchez

Amy Yule