Water Polo Season in Review

Photo by: CSUN Athletics

Water Polo Season in Review

6/14/2016 11:34:00 AM | Women's Water Polo

NORTHRIDGE, CA---

For CSUN Water Polo, the 2016 season provided a glimpse into the future. Following the departure of a stellar senior class, the Matadors maintained their national ranking throughout the season while integrating a young core of student-athletes into pivotal roles on the team. The season saw the emergence of a talented sophomore class led by dynamic scorers Madeleine Sanchez and Amy Yule, and a steady defensive presence in Niki Van Vugt in front of the cage. Concluding with a 12-20 record, the Matadors capped off the season in style with a victory in the fifth-place game of the Big West Conference Tournament.

Over the past several seasons, the Matadors leaned heavily on an impressive core of players that left an imprint in the CSUN record books. Marisa Young, Kelcie Ferreira, Kelcy Barott, Kate Kammer, MacKenzy Fowler and Kiernan Davis were all instrumental in helping the Matadors establish a winning tradition over the last four seasons. In 2016, the Matadors turned to fresh faces to take the reigns of the team. With an opportunity to step into new roles in the pool, many Matadors turned in standout performances throughout the season.

Coming off a strong first year with the team in 2015, Sanchez not only became the top scorer on the team, she also emerged as one of the most prolific scorers in the Big West Conference in 2016. After scoring 29 goals and recording 28 assists last season, Sanchez posted an astounding 73 goals as a sophomore while dishing out a team-leading 44 assists en route to earning a Big West Conference Second Team honor. Her 73 goals during the year were the fourth-most in a single season in team history. A big part of the Matador offense, Sanchez accounted for 43.4 percent of all scoring in 32 matches. She also proved to be strong on the defensive end as she finished second on the team in steals with 59 and third in field blocks with nine.

Another top scorer on the team, Yule provided gritty play down low for the Matadors. Taking over for Young, the second-leading scorer in team history, Yule hit the net 46 times on a team-best 50.5 percent shooting. Achieving career highs across the board, Yule started every match and improved her goal total by 33. Scoring in all but six matches on the year, Yule also led the team in earned ejections with 64 and finished tied for seventh in steals with 27.

In front of the cage, Van Vugt also replaced another all-time CSUN great in Davis. Looking to follow in the foot steps of the second-leading save leader in the history of the team, Van Vugt played in nearly 700 more minutes as a sophomore than she did as a freshman. Starting 25 matches, Van Vugt accumulated 196 saves while posting an 8.77 goals-against-average. Serving as a backup to Van Vugt, senior goalkeeper Natalie Averell provided a veteran presence in her 14 matches on the season. Averell amassed a career-high 298 minutes and 53 saves in her final campaign with the team. In the record books, Averell moved into ninth-place all-time with 131 career saves.

Also taking advantage of their new roles in the pool, sophomores Katelyn Fairchild and Shannon Hovanesian, and junior McKenzie Pollei enjoyed career seasons in 2016. After scoring four goals to go along with seven assists and six steals as a freshman, Fairchild played tremendously as a sophomore, leading the team with 73 steals while scoring 28 goals and dishing out 35 assists. One of four team captains on the team, Hovanesian doubled her goal total from last season with 20 tallies as she posted a team-leading 13 field blocks, and recorded 49 steals, 39 earned ejections and 34 assists. Fellow captain, Pollei came into the year with 11 goals in her career and she managed to double that output in 2016 with 24 goals. Pollei filled up the stat sheet across the board with her 38 steals, 26 assists and 12 field blocks on the season.

Juniors Emily Fuller and Alexis Elias, sophomore Paula Abellan Garcia, and freshmen Miranda Coleman and Lindsey Garcia each were key contributors to the team as well during the season. Fuller played in every match for the first time in her career, achieving new career highs in goals (12), assists (23) and steals (34). Elias also competed in all 32 contests and saw an increase in every statistical category in 2016 as she totaled 14 goals, 17 assists and 31 steals. Coleman played in all but one match and she racked up 14 goals, 21 assists and 23 steals for the Matadors. Limited to 20 matches due to an injury, Garcia still completed a productive first season with the team, registering 15 goals, 13 steals, 12 assists and 11 earned ejections.

The Matadors began the season at the UCSB Winter Invite, dropping three of four games before earning their first win of the season against Azusa Pacific, 14-12. The following week, the Matadors defeated Pomona-Pitzer and Concordia at the Cal Baptist Tournament to even their record at 3-3. Against Pomona-Pitzer, history would be made as Sanchez tied a CSUN record for goals in a game with seven to lead her team to a 13-5 win.

CSUN traveled to UC San Diego to compete in the Triton Invitational and went 2-2, posting wins over Somoma State and No. 25 Cal State East Bay. Holding a 5-5 mark on the season on Feb. 14, the Matadors would hit a rough patch dropping five-straight contests, all against nationally-ranked opponents. Falling in back-to-back matches to No. 1 USC, the Matadors also went winless at the UCI Invitational before ending the skid at Asuza Pacifc with a convincing 14-2 triumph. CSU Bakersfield handed the Matadors a narrow 10-8 defeat before CSUN headed home to face its next three opponents.

The Matadors dropped their first two home games to nationally-ranked UC San Diego and Harvard, but righted the ship with a 16-8 win over Redlands. CSUN then posted a 1-1 mark at the LMU Invite, falling to San Jose State but rallying to upend Whittier. Back at home, the Matadors wrapped up their non-conference slate with two impressive victories over Marist, 13-12, and Brown, 10-6, giving the team a 10-14 record heading into Big West play.

At the start of the conference season, the Matadors struggled to score in the first two matches against No. 6 UC Irvine and No. 16 Long Beach State, suffering 12-6 and 10-4 losses respectively.

CSUN returned home to face No. 4 Hawai'i and battled in a high-scoring affair. In the end, the Matadors were unable to keep up with the Rainbow Wahine, falling 17-11. The Matadors concluded its home slate with No. 9 UC Davis on Senior Day. After honoring seniors Averell, Taitum Herrington and Taryn Kamimoto, the Matadors and Aggies engaged in a back-and-forth contest. The Aggies would outlast CSUN for a 10-9 win to hand the Matadors' their fifth-straight conference loss.

Despite going winless against Big West foes, the Matadors ended the regular season on a high note. CSUN defeated its first Top 20 team of the season with a 9-7 victory at No. 20 Loyola Marymount.

Following the regular season, the Matadors headed to the Big West Conference Tournament in Santa Barbara to face third-seeded UCSB in the opening round of the tournament. After keeping the game close in the first half, the Gauchos took control down the stretch and hung on for an 8-4 win to eliminate the Matadors.

With only two days to regroup before competing in the fifth-place game of the tournament, CSUN returned back to the pool and pulled off an impressive victory over No. 10 UC Davis. Fairchild led the way with a career-high four goals and Van Vugt posted 13 saves to help CSUN to a 10-9 triumph to conclude the season in winning fashion.

Looking ahead to next season, the Matadors will return a majority of their roster as the team's leading scorers Sanchez, Yule and Fairchild and starting goalkeeper Van Vugt all will be back for their junior campaigns. In addition to welcoming back their Top 10 leading scorers, redshirt freshman Lauren Rothermel and junior Natalie McCann are both expected to contribute quickly in their first seasons with CSUN in 2017.