CSUN Hits the Road to Face No. 1 USC

NORTHRIDGE, CA---

After going 2-2 at UC San Diego's Triton Invitational last weekend, No. 25 CSUN Water Polo (5-5) returns to action on Saturday to face top-ranked USC at Uytengsu Aquatics Center at 1 p.m. in a non-conference test.

The Matadors squared off with nationally-ranked opponents at last week's Triton Invite including a pair of Big West Conference opponents. On day one, CSUN dropped a 10-5 decision to UC Davis and fell in the afternoon contest, 8-7, to Long Beach State. CSUN would rebound on Sunday however, as the Matadors put together a wire-to-wire victory over Sonoma State, 14-5, and came from behind to upend Cal State East Bay, 8-6, to finish 13^th at the tournament.

Sophomore Madeleine Sanchez scored 10 goals combined over the four games including four in each of CSUN's victories. Paula Abellan Garcia also had a strong weekend, posting five tallies including her first career hat trick against Sonoma State. In front of the cage, Niki Van Vugt recorded 25 saves over the four matches including 15 combined against the Aggies and 49ers.

Heading into the matchup, Sanchez continues to lead the Matadors with 29 goals though 10 matches this season. She is also scoring at an effective rate, shooting 60.4 percent while also recording 15 steals and nine assists. Center Amy Yule is second in scoring with 15 goals after hitting the net four times at UC San Diego.

The tandem of Katelyn Fairchild and Shannon Hovanesian are both at the top of the assists and steals categories for the Matadors. Fairchild has registered a team-best 22 steals while Hovanesian has 19. On the flip side, Hovanesian has tallied 15 assists to lead the team while Fairchild is second with 14.

Van Vugt has amassed the most time in net with 280:00 and the sophomore has recorded 66 saves.

As a team, the Matadors have outscored opponents 95-85 through 10 matches and 11 different players have hit the back of the net. The team has also registered more tallies in the second half of games than their opponents as CSUN has posted a 50-38 edge.

The Matadors face a stiff test when they take on the Trojans on Saturday afternoon. CSUN is seeking its first victory all-time in the series as USC is 11-0 including earning a 19-3 victory last February.

A Closer Look at USC
The top-ranked Trojans are 6-0 thus far in 2016 including going a perfect 4-0 at last weekend's Triton Invitational. USC posted victories over Santa Clara, 20-2, UC San Diego, 15-8, Arizona State, 6-3, and UCLA, 8-6, in the championship game. Four different Trojans have scored in double figures with junior Stephania Haralabidis leading the way with 15 goals. Junior Avery Peterson has scored 13 tallies in the pool while juniors Brigitta Games and Ioanna Haralabidis have scored 12 and 11 respectively. Leading scorer Haralabidis scored nine goals at UC San Diego including three in the championship match.

CSUN Hits the Road to Face No. 1 USC

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Players Mentioned

Paula Abellan Garcia

Katelyn Fairchild

Shannon Hovanesian

Madeleine Sanchez

Niki Van Vugt

Amy Yule