Matadors Outlast Marist, 13-12

NORTHRIDGE, CA---

No. 25 CSUN Water Polo (9-14) used a late surge to upend the No. 23 Marist Red Foxes, 13-12, on Monday afternoon at Matador Pool. Sophomore Madeleine Sanchez scored six goals to lead the Matadors while both Paula Abellan Garcia and McKenzie Pollei each tallied a pair.

Both teams waste little time getting into the scoring column as each side posted goals in the opening minute. Katie Tijerina scored her first of three goals on the day 00:24 into the match but Sanchez answered right back on the ensuing Matador possession to even the game up.

The teams exchanged scoring chances through the first until Amanda Amorosa put the Red Foxes back on top with a goal from straight away. CSUN responded with a strong end to the period to take its first lead. After a series of passes, Paula Abellan Garcia found the netting to tie it up and Sanchez hit her second goal with 1:38 left in the period. Shannon Hovanesian tallied her first score of the day on a looping shot past the Marist defense to push the lead to 4-2.

In the second, Marist struck first again to trim the deficit to one but goals from Pollei and Sanchez gave CSUN its biggest lead of the day at 6-3 at the 6:16 mark of the period. Marist and CSUN each notched a goal as the game approached intermission but the Matadors took a 7-4 lead into the half on a late goal from Sanchez.

The back-and-forth battled continued into the third. Once again Marist scored first to begin the period as Tijerina and Amorosa each posted tallies to cut the lead to one before Pollei notched her second goal of the game to put CSUN on top, 8-6.

The Red Foxes though would make a run to end the quarter to take its first lead since the opening minutes of the match. Amorosa recorded her fifth score of the contest with 2:43 left in the third and Ariana Singer struck the net less than a minute later to tie the game. The match appeared it would enter the fourth even at 9-9 but Singer gave the Red Foxes the lead with a buzzer beater.

Trailing by one, CSUN went to work in the final period. Sanchez netted a goal in the opening minute to tie the game at 10-10. After Marist went ahead 11-10, Abellan Garcia flicked a shot in past two defenders near the net to even the match once again. With 2:01 left on the clock, Sanchez struck again for her sixth goal of the day to push CSUN back into the lead.

The Red Foxes looked for the equalizer but senior goalkeeper Natalie Averell made two crucial stops down the stretch to maintain the Matador advantage. CSUN added a late insurance goal from Alexis Elias with 1:14 left to play to extend the lead and the Matadors managed the clock effectively in the final moments to earn the win.

CSUN continues its homestand with a Tuesday afternoon match against Brown University on March 29 at 3 p.m.

Marist: 2-2-6-2 = 12
CSUN: 4-3-2-4 = 13

Marist Goal Scorers: Amorosa 6, Tijerina 3, Singer 2, McQuade
CSUN Goal Scorers: Sanchez 6, Abellan Garcia 2, Pollei 2, Elias, Hovanesian, Fuller

Matadors Outlast Marist, 13-12

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Players Mentioned

Paula Abellan Garcia

Natalie Averell

Alexis Elias

Shannon Hovanesian

McKenzie Pollei

Madeleine Sanchez