Friday, April 29
Santa Barbara, CA
2:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
4
at
8
#9 UC Santa Barbara
Photo by: Paul Trafecanty
Matadors Fall to UCSB in Big West Quarterfinals
4/29/2016 6:38:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
NORTHRIDGE, CA---
CSUN Water Polo (11-20) suffered an 8-4 loss to UC Santa Barbara (17-12) in the opening round of the Big West Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon. Katelyn Fairchild, Amy Yule, Madeleine Sanchez and Alexis Elias scored one goal apiece for CSUN. Sophomore goalkeeper Niki Van Vugt posted 10 saves in the cage. The Matadors kept the match close throughout the first half but UCSB pulled away with a strong second half to advance to the conference semifinals.
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Facing the host of the tournament, the Matadors fell behind in the early stages of the first quarter to the Gauchos. Goals from Bryn Hudson and Samantha Murphy in the first 1:09 of the contest put CSUN in an early 2-0 hole.
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The Matadors fought back to cut the deficit in half with a Fairchild goal at the 5:16 mark of the quarter. The teams traded power play opportunities but neither side was able to hit the net until Sophie Trabucco gave her team a 3-1 lead with under a minute on the clock.
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Elias got CSUN back on the scoreboard in the opening seconds of the second to cut the deficit to 3-2. The CSUN defense kept the Gauchos scoreless over the next four minutes including successfully withstanding three UCSB power play possessions. UC Santa Barbara finally ended the scoring drought after Brenna Thomas struck the net to go back up by two.Â
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Yule trimmed the UCSB lead to 4-3 with a goal in front of the net but the Gauchos answered right back with Trabacco's second score of the day just before halftime.
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After a solid first half, the Matadors were unable to chip away at UCSB's advantage throughout the second half. The Gauchos extended their lead with tallies from Murphy and Sarah Kreiser to make it 7-3 before Sanchez netted the Matadors' first score of the quarter with 00:21 on the clock.
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In the fourth, UCSB kept CSUN at bay throughout the final eight minutes. The Matadors would go scoreless in the final quarter despite having two power play opportunities. Murphy knocked in her third goal of the day in the early stages of the quarter and UCSB held on for the 8-4 victory.
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Sanchez extended her goal total to 72 this season in the match, moving her into a fourth-place tie in school history for goals in a season with Allison Brookes (2006). The score is also the 100th in Sanchez's two-year career.
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The Matadors will end their stay at the Big West Conference Tournament on Sunday morning at 10 a.m. in a fifth-place match with fifth-seeded UC Davis. The Aggies fell to fourth-seeded Hawai'i, 10-6, on Friday in the teams' opening round match.Â
CSUN: 1-2-1-0 = 4
UCSB: 3-2-2-1 = 8
CSUN Goal Scorers: Sanchez, Yule, Fairchild, Elias
UCSB Goal Scorers: Murphy 3, Trabucco 2, Thomas, Kreiser, HudsonÂ
CSUN GK Saves: Van Vugt 10
UCSB GK Saves: Brokaw 8
CSUN Water Polo (11-20) suffered an 8-4 loss to UC Santa Barbara (17-12) in the opening round of the Big West Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon. Katelyn Fairchild, Amy Yule, Madeleine Sanchez and Alexis Elias scored one goal apiece for CSUN. Sophomore goalkeeper Niki Van Vugt posted 10 saves in the cage. The Matadors kept the match close throughout the first half but UCSB pulled away with a strong second half to advance to the conference semifinals.
Â
Facing the host of the tournament, the Matadors fell behind in the early stages of the first quarter to the Gauchos. Goals from Bryn Hudson and Samantha Murphy in the first 1:09 of the contest put CSUN in an early 2-0 hole.
Â
The Matadors fought back to cut the deficit in half with a Fairchild goal at the 5:16 mark of the quarter. The teams traded power play opportunities but neither side was able to hit the net until Sophie Trabucco gave her team a 3-1 lead with under a minute on the clock.
Â
Elias got CSUN back on the scoreboard in the opening seconds of the second to cut the deficit to 3-2. The CSUN defense kept the Gauchos scoreless over the next four minutes including successfully withstanding three UCSB power play possessions. UC Santa Barbara finally ended the scoring drought after Brenna Thomas struck the net to go back up by two.Â
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Yule trimmed the UCSB lead to 4-3 with a goal in front of the net but the Gauchos answered right back with Trabacco's second score of the day just before halftime.
Â
After a solid first half, the Matadors were unable to chip away at UCSB's advantage throughout the second half. The Gauchos extended their lead with tallies from Murphy and Sarah Kreiser to make it 7-3 before Sanchez netted the Matadors' first score of the quarter with 00:21 on the clock.
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In the fourth, UCSB kept CSUN at bay throughout the final eight minutes. The Matadors would go scoreless in the final quarter despite having two power play opportunities. Murphy knocked in her third goal of the day in the early stages of the quarter and UCSB held on for the 8-4 victory.
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Sanchez extended her goal total to 72 this season in the match, moving her into a fourth-place tie in school history for goals in a season with Allison Brookes (2006). The score is also the 100th in Sanchez's two-year career.
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The Matadors will end their stay at the Big West Conference Tournament on Sunday morning at 10 a.m. in a fifth-place match with fifth-seeded UC Davis. The Aggies fell to fourth-seeded Hawai'i, 10-6, on Friday in the teams' opening round match.Â
CSUN: 1-2-1-0 = 4
UCSB: 3-2-2-1 = 8
CSUN Goal Scorers: Sanchez, Yule, Fairchild, Elias
UCSB Goal Scorers: Murphy 3, Trabucco 2, Thomas, Kreiser, HudsonÂ
CSUN GK Saves: Van Vugt 10
UCSB GK Saves: Brokaw 8
Players Mentioned
Utility
/ Women's Water Polo
Defender
/ Women's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Women's Water Polo
Utility
/ Women's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Women's Water Polo
Goalkeeper
/ Women's Water Polo
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