Matadors Post Victories Over #25 Cal Baptist, Redlands

NORTHRIDGE, CA---

No. 22 CSUN Water Polo (7-9) earned a pair of victories on Thursday afternoon at Redlands. The Matadors recorded their second victory over a ranked team this season in a 11-5 win over No. 25 Cal Baptist to begin the day and CSUN posted a wire-to-wire win over host Redlands to close out the afternoon. A total of 14 different Matadors scored in the two matches with Madeleine Sanchez, Shannon Hovanesian, Madasonne Butler and Katia Andon-Mateos all scoring a team-best three. In the cage, Niki Van Vugt saw action in the opener, posting nine saves, and freshman Nathalie Brewster collected 12 combined saves in the two contests.

In the first match, the Lancers took an early 1-0 lead on a goal from Paizlee Dreyer in the opening minute but CSUN quickly turn things around moments later. Sanchez evened the game up at the 5:32 mark of the first quarter, and Katelyn Fairchild gave CSUN a lead with back-to-back goals within a 15-second span. Abi Auer trimmed the CSUN lead to 3-2 on a power play but Sanchez put the Matadors back on top by two with a goal near the end of the quarter.

The second period would be another strong one for the Matadors as they extended their lead to as big as five. After a Lancer goal in the opening minute of the quarter, CSUN scored four unanswered to take an 8-3 lead into halftime. Butler scored two goals in the period and both Hovanesian and Amy Yule got into the act to give the Matadors a commanding lead.

After a strong offensive period, the Matadors put together an equally impressive defensive third quarter. Despite seeing four 6-on-5 possessions in the period, CSUN held the Lancers off the scoreboard for the full eight minutes. Hovanesian added to the Matador lead on a CSUN power play possession.

The Matadors scored two goals in the fourth, both from Miranda Coleman, to put the game out of reach. Entering the match in the third quarter, Brewster played the final 11 minutes in the cage and posted a save.

Along with her two goals, Hovanesian collected four steals and added two assists against Cal Baptist. Yule registered three steals while Sanchez finished with two steals and two assists.

In the late afternoon game, the Matadors utilized a balanced attack to post a convincing victory over Redlands. Twelve different Matadors hit the net in the game while 12 players recorded steals and nine registered assists.

After both sides went scoreless over the first two minutes of the game, the Matadors struck first on a goal from Hovanesian on a power play. From there, the floodgates would open as scores from Sanchez, Yule, McKenzie Pollei and Lindsey Garcia quickly pushed the lead to 5-0 at the 2:44 mark of the period. Redlands cracked the scoring column on a goal from Sami Walker but Andon-Mateos found the net with just over a minute to play to give CSUN 6-1 advantage.

The Matadors continued to frustrate the Bulldogs in the second quarter, holding the team to another one-goal period. On the offensive end, the freshman trio of Andon-Mateos, Lauren Rothermel and Marylynn Cuozzo all connected with goals to keep CSUN ahead by a wide margin going into halftime (9-2).

After intermission, Redlands fought back with back-to-back goals in the third quarter to trim the CSUN lead to 9-4. However, the Matadors would own the remainder of the period, scoring three times over the final 4:35 to extend to a 12-4 lead. More Matadors joined the scoring parade as Vivian Talmage and Ashlee Sellung each hit the net. Andon-Mateos also completed the hat trick with 39 seconds left in the third period.

CSUN added three insurance goals in the fourth period including Rothermel's second of the match to cruise to the 15-5 victory. Butler scored in the final period while Jennalyn Barthels also picked up a goal with 1:15 remaining to wrap up the scoring for the day.

Making her first career start in the cage, Brewster recorded a career-high 11 saves for the Matadors. Along with her hat trick, Andon-Mateos also registered three assists. Off the bench, senior Jade Arner tallied three assists and the tandem of Yule and Cuozzo had three steals apiece.

CSUN returns to the pool on Saturday for a pair of matches at Azusa Pacific. The Matadors take on the host Cougars at 9 a.m. and wrap up the day with a match against Pomona-Pitzer at noon.

CBU: 2-1-1-1 = 5
CSUN: 4-4-1-2 = 11

CBU scorers: Spezzaferri 2, Dreyer, Auer, Castellano
CSUN scorers: Sanchez 2 (29), Fairchild 2 (28), Hovanesian 2 (14), Coleman 2 (9), Butler 2 (7), Yule (12)

CBU saves: Medeiros 6
CSUN saves: Van Vugt 9 (106), Brewster (27)
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Redlands: 1-1-2-1 = 5
CSUN: 6-3-3-3 = 15

Redlands scorers: Na 2, Walker, Hunter, Kahahawai
CSUN scorers: Andon-Mateos 3 (6), Rothermel 2, Sanchez (30), Yule (13), Hovanesian (15), Butler (8), Pollei (6), Garcia (4), Barthels (3), Cuozzo, Sellung, Talmage

Redlands saves: N/A
CSUN saves: Brewster 11 (38)

Matadors Post Victories Over #25 Cal Baptist, Redlands

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Players Mentioned

Katia Andon-Mateos

Jade Arner

Jennalyn Barthels

Nathalie Brewster

Madasonne Butler

Miranda Coleman

Marylynn Cuozzo

Katelyn Fairchild

Lindsey Garcia

Shannon Hovanesian

McKenzie Pollei

Lauren Rothermel

Madeleine Sanchez

Ashlee Sellung

Vivian Talmage

Niki Van Vugt

Amy Yule