Matadors Drop Two on Day One of Triton Invitational

Northridge, CA---

CSUN Water Polo (3-5) dropped a pair of contests to Big West Conference foes on day one of the Triton Invitational at UC San Diego. The Matadors fell to UC Davis in the opener, 10-5, and suffered a close, 8-7, loss against Long Beach State at Canyonview Pool. Sophomore Shannon Hovanesian recorded her first career hat trick in the opener while Taitum Herrington and Madeleine Sanchez each posted two scores apiece on the day. Goalkeeper Niki Van Vugt posted seven saves in each contest.

In the morning match, the Matadors and Aggies battled in a close game throughout the first period. Each team traded goals in the first as both Hovanesian and Sanchez recorded tallies. After eight minutes of play, the game remained deadlocked at 2-2.

The Aggies would take control of the game with a strong second period however. After Hovanesian gave CSUN a 3-2 lead with a score at the 6:54 mark of the period, the Aggies would keep the Matadors scoreless for the remainder of the quarter. Five-straight scores over a four-minute span gave UC Davis a 7-3 lead at halftime.

In the final two periods, the Matadors could not cut into the deficit despite holding the Aggies to single goals in each of the final stanzas. Hovanesian connected on her third goal of the game at the 5:48 mark of the third to trim the UC Davis advantage to 8-4 before the Aggies stretched the lead to 9-4 before the end of the quarter. Amy Yule brought CSUN to within 9-5 with a tally with 5:28 left to go but CSUN would not get any closer.

Van Vugt led CSUN with four steals while Hovanesian also posted three in the contest. Sanchez finished with two assists while also recording a field block.

CSUN: 2-1-1-1 = 5
UCD: 2-5-2-1 = 10

CSUN Scorers: Hovanesian 3 (8), Yule (12), Sanchez (20)
UC Davis Scorers: Hansen 4, Harvey 2, Arcidiacono 2, Johnson, Bushman

CSUN GK Saves: Van Vugt 7 (48)
UC Davis GK Saves: Cameron 8
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The Matadors battled the 49ers in a seesaw affair over 32:00 of action in the afternoon game. Paula Abellan Garcia got the offense started with a score to nod the contest at 1-1 in the first period and Lindsey Garcia tied up in the match in the second with her first tally of the day after LBSU took a lead. The 49ers surged ahead with two goals including a buzzer beater from Annabel Harman to take their biggest lead of the match at the half.

After intermission, the scored remained 4-2 for most of the third quarter until CSUN mounted a rally. Goals from Herrington and Emily Fuller within a 1:27 span squared the game again at 4-4. Less than a minute later, LBSU reclaimed the advantage at 5-4 before the Herrington found the netting once more to even the contest yet again.

However, the 49ers again took another lead with a tally with 00:37 left in the third quarter. Despite CSUN tying the contest on four different occasions in the match, Long Beach State took advantage of timely scores to maintain its lead. In each of the first three periods, the 49ers hit goals in the final minute.

In the final period, CSUN fell behind 7-5 before pulling to within 7-6 with 5:37 left in the match. A comeback would not be in the cards however as the 49ers held on over the final minutes despite a late goal from Katelyn Fairchild, to earn an 8-7 win.

McKenzie Pollei registered two of three Matador field blocks against the 49ers including adding an assist and a steal. With tallies in each of the two games, Sanchez has recorded a goal in each of the Matadors' eight games this season.

CSUN will try to regroup on Sunday as the Matadors are set to compete in two more contests to close out their stay at UC San Diego. The Matadors face Sonoma State at 8 a.m. and will meet either Santa Clara or Cal State East Bay in the afternoon.

CSUN: 1-1-3-2 = 7
LBSU: 2-2-2-2 = 8

CSUN Scorers: Herrington 2 (3), Abellan Garcia (4), Fairchild (7), Garcia (5), Fuller (3), Sanchez (21)
Long Beach State Scorers: Morrissey 2, Massier 2, Harman, Screnci, Reynolds, Garczynski

CSUN GK Saves: Van Vugt 7 (55)
Long Beach State GK Saves: Unavailable

Matadors Drop Two on Day One of Triton Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Paula Abellan Garcia

Katelyn Fairchild

Emily Fuller

Lindsey Garcia

Taitum Herrington

Shannon Hovanesian

McKenzie Pollei

Madeleine Sanchez

Niki Van Vugt

Amy Yule