Saturday, January 20
Santa Barbara, CA
1:30 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
5
vs
14
#8 Michigan
Photo by: Paul Trafecanty
Matadors Finish 2-2 at the UCSB Winter Invite
1/20/2018 7:53:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.---No. 21 CSUN Water Polo dropped its last two matches at the UC Santa Barbara Winter Invite on Saturday afternoon. The Matadors fell to No. 8 Michigan 14-5 and suffered a 10-9 loss to Fresno State to finish 2-2 at the invitational. Senior Paula Abellan Garcia tallied two goals in each match while Katelyn Fairchild, Shannon Hovanesian and Madeleine Sanchez collected two goals apiece for the day. Freshman Elyse Koe collected her first career goal against Michigan. In the cage, Emma Pfister picked up eight saves while Niki Van Vugt racked up six saves.
"It feels good to get the season underway and see our team in action," said head coach Matt Warshaw. "We've made big strides in one year. Beating Azusa Pacific and Cal Baptist in the same day was a great accomplishment [on Friday]. Battling with No. 8 ranked Michigan is excellent experience that will only help prepare us for the competition of the Big West. I thought some of our younger players handled the fast pace well. It's a big transition from high school water polo to Division I.
Game one recap:
No. 8 Michigan posted a wire-to-wire victory over the Matadors to kick off the day. Julie Sellers scored the first two goals of the match before Abellan Garcia got the Matadors' offense going with a goal at the 4:32 mark.
However, the Matadors would be unable to slow down Michigan throughout the first half. Beginning with a goal from Maddy Johnston in the first period, the Wolverines scored five unanswered goals to build a 7-1 lead. CSUN ended the string late in the first half as Sara Dempsey scored on a five-meter penalty shot.
In the second half, Jennalyn Barthels scored her first goal of the season late in the third period and both Abellan Garcia and Koe hit the net in the fourth period. CSUN trimmed the deficit to 11-5 with 4:37 to play off the goal from Koe but the Wolverines ended the match on a 3-0 run.
CSUN finished with four field blocks in the match and two steals as a team. Ashlee Sellung, Shannon Hovanesian, Madasonne Butler and Koe were each credited with assists in the contest. Gaining valuable minutes against a Top 10 team, Pfister played the entire 32 minutes in front of the cage and collected a steal to go with her eight saves.
CSUN - 1-1-1-2 = 5
Michigan - 3-4-3-4 = 14
CSUN goals: Abellan Garcia 2 (4), Dempsey (2), Barthels, Koe
Michigan goals: Sellers 4, Ritner 2, Johnson 2, Steere 2, Johnston, Anderson, Pontre, O'Reilly
CSUN saves: Pfister 8 (19)
Michigan saves: N/A
Game two recap:
The Matadors got off to hot start against Fresno State and led for three periods before the Bulldogs went on a fourth-quarter run to pull off the one-goal victory. Seniors Abellan Garcia, Fairchild, Sanchez and Hovanesian all poured in two goals apiece while Van Vugt earned the start at goalkeeper and collected six saves, a steal and an assist in 32 minutes of action.
After sitting out the early game, Sanchez got the Matadors on the scoreboard first at the 5:39 mark of the first period. Junior Lindsey Garcia collected her first goal of the season later in the period and Abellan Garcia added to the lead with a last second goal as CSUN led 3-1 after eight minutes.
The Bulldogs answered back in the second period behind two late goals. Claire Schade hit the net on a power play followed by a score from Maddie Loggins in the final minute of the half. The Matadors went scoreless over the entire eight-minute session as the score was even at 3-3 at halftime.
Neither side could break through for nearly the first five minutes in the third period until Fairchild gave the Matadors the lead right back. Abellan Garcia doubled the Matadors' lead to 5-3 at the 1:55 mark but the Bulldogs evened the match once more off goals from Emily Nicholson and Callie Woodruff.
After the teams combined for 10 goals through three periods, the teams tallied nine goals in the fourth period alone. Sydney Coachman gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the match in the opening minute of the quarter. Sanchez would even the game at 6-6 but the Bulldogs scored three unanswered goals to take a 9-6 lead with 3:12 to go. CSUN would not go away quietly as Hovanesian hit back-to-back goals to trim the deficit to one with under two minutes to play.
The scored remained 9-8 until the 18 second mark where Coachman scored an insurance goal to seal the win. Fairchild hit the Matadors' final goal with eight seconds left to play.
FS - 1-2-2-5 = 10
CSUN -3-0-2-4 = 9
FS goals:
CSUN goals: Abellan Garcia 2 (6), Fairchild 2 (6), Sanchez 2 (5), Hovanesian 2 (5), Garcia
FS saves: N/A
CSUN saves: Van Vugt 6 (20)
The Matadors will take a week off before returning to action on Friday, Feb. 2. The Matadors face Carthage College and Cal State Monterey Bay in a pair neutral-site morning matches at Cal Lutheran.
"It feels good to get the season underway and see our team in action," said head coach Matt Warshaw. "We've made big strides in one year. Beating Azusa Pacific and Cal Baptist in the same day was a great accomplishment [on Friday]. Battling with No. 8 ranked Michigan is excellent experience that will only help prepare us for the competition of the Big West. I thought some of our younger players handled the fast pace well. It's a big transition from high school water polo to Division I.
Game one recap:
No. 8 Michigan posted a wire-to-wire victory over the Matadors to kick off the day. Julie Sellers scored the first two goals of the match before Abellan Garcia got the Matadors' offense going with a goal at the 4:32 mark.
However, the Matadors would be unable to slow down Michigan throughout the first half. Beginning with a goal from Maddy Johnston in the first period, the Wolverines scored five unanswered goals to build a 7-1 lead. CSUN ended the string late in the first half as Sara Dempsey scored on a five-meter penalty shot.
In the second half, Jennalyn Barthels scored her first goal of the season late in the third period and both Abellan Garcia and Koe hit the net in the fourth period. CSUN trimmed the deficit to 11-5 with 4:37 to play off the goal from Koe but the Wolverines ended the match on a 3-0 run.
CSUN finished with four field blocks in the match and two steals as a team. Ashlee Sellung, Shannon Hovanesian, Madasonne Butler and Koe were each credited with assists in the contest. Gaining valuable minutes against a Top 10 team, Pfister played the entire 32 minutes in front of the cage and collected a steal to go with her eight saves.
CSUN - 1-1-1-2 = 5
Michigan - 3-4-3-4 = 14
CSUN goals: Abellan Garcia 2 (4), Dempsey (2), Barthels, Koe
Michigan goals: Sellers 4, Ritner 2, Johnson 2, Steere 2, Johnston, Anderson, Pontre, O'Reilly
CSUN saves: Pfister 8 (19)
Michigan saves: N/A
Game two recap:
The Matadors got off to hot start against Fresno State and led for three periods before the Bulldogs went on a fourth-quarter run to pull off the one-goal victory. Seniors Abellan Garcia, Fairchild, Sanchez and Hovanesian all poured in two goals apiece while Van Vugt earned the start at goalkeeper and collected six saves, a steal and an assist in 32 minutes of action.
After sitting out the early game, Sanchez got the Matadors on the scoreboard first at the 5:39 mark of the first period. Junior Lindsey Garcia collected her first goal of the season later in the period and Abellan Garcia added to the lead with a last second goal as CSUN led 3-1 after eight minutes.
The Bulldogs answered back in the second period behind two late goals. Claire Schade hit the net on a power play followed by a score from Maddie Loggins in the final minute of the half. The Matadors went scoreless over the entire eight-minute session as the score was even at 3-3 at halftime.
Neither side could break through for nearly the first five minutes in the third period until Fairchild gave the Matadors the lead right back. Abellan Garcia doubled the Matadors' lead to 5-3 at the 1:55 mark but the Bulldogs evened the match once more off goals from Emily Nicholson and Callie Woodruff.
After the teams combined for 10 goals through three periods, the teams tallied nine goals in the fourth period alone. Sydney Coachman gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the match in the opening minute of the quarter. Sanchez would even the game at 6-6 but the Bulldogs scored three unanswered goals to take a 9-6 lead with 3:12 to go. CSUN would not go away quietly as Hovanesian hit back-to-back goals to trim the deficit to one with under two minutes to play.
The scored remained 9-8 until the 18 second mark where Coachman scored an insurance goal to seal the win. Fairchild hit the Matadors' final goal with eight seconds left to play.
FS - 1-2-2-5 = 10
CSUN -3-0-2-4 = 9
FS goals:
CSUN goals: Abellan Garcia 2 (6), Fairchild 2 (6), Sanchez 2 (5), Hovanesian 2 (5), Garcia
FS saves: N/A
CSUN saves: Van Vugt 6 (20)
The Matadors will take a week off before returning to action on Friday, Feb. 2. The Matadors face Carthage College and Cal State Monterey Bay in a pair neutral-site morning matches at Cal Lutheran.
Players Mentioned
Center
/ Women's Water Polo
Utility
/ Women's Water Polo
Center
/ Women's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Women's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Women's Water Polo
Utility
/ Women's Water Polo
Utility
/ Women's Water Polo
Goalkeeper
/ Women's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Women's Water Polo
Defender
/ Women's Water Polo
Goalkeeper
/ Women's Water PoloA Conversation With Matt Warshaw
Friday, May 15
National Student-Athlete Day 2019 - McKenzie Beardsley
Friday, April 05
CSUN Water Polo Report
Friday, February 10
Meet the Matadors - 2017 Women's Water Polo
Wednesday, January 18