Matadors Compete at Wolverine Invite this Weekend

Saturday, March 3

Ann Arbor, MI

6:40 a.m.

California State University at Northridge

#9 Michigan

Photo by: Paul Trafecanty

Matadors Compete at Wolverine Invite this Weekend

3/2/2018 11:45:00 AM | Women's Water Polo

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---No. 19 CSUN Water Polo heads to Ann Arbor, Mich. to compete in the Wolverine Invitational this weekend. The Matadors will take on No. 9 Michigan on Saturday morning at 6:40 a.m. before facing Azusa Pacific at 1:15 p.m. CSUN returns to the pool on Sunday morning for a match up with Iona at 5:30 a.m. followed by a meeting with Bucknell at 9:20 a.m. Live stats will be available for each match in the invite and the Matadors' match with Michigan will be streamed live. All links for stats and video could be found on the women's water polo schedule page on GoMatadors.com.

The Matadors went 1-3 last weekend at UC Irvine's Barbara Kalbus Invitational. Facing four Top 20 teams, the Matadors fell to No. 2 California (17-2), No. 11 Loyola Marymount (9-5) and No. 18 San Jose State (8-7) before defeating No. 14 San Diego State on Sunday 10-9 in overtime. CSUN earned its third Top 25 win this season and second Top 15 victory with a come-from-behind win over the Aztecs. The Matadors trailed 9-8 in the final minute of the second overtime but freshman Sara Dempsey would even the match on a five-meter penalty shot. CSUN gained possession in the final seconds where sophomore Jennalyn Barthels nailed the game winner with two seconds remaining. The win over the Aztecs is the Matadors' first since 2005 and second overall in the history of the program.

With five goals last weekend, Senior Madeleine Sanchez increased her season total to 20 and her career tally to 195. Sanchez now sits in fourth place on the Matadors' career scoring list and just 37 goals away from tying all-time leader Allison Brookes (2005-08). On the career steals list, Sanchez is in third place with 208. Sanchez is also third in career field goal attempts (466) and eighth in assists (126).

Senior Katelyn Fairchild leads the Matadors in goals (22) and field blocks (12) while she is second in steals (24) and third in assists (12). Fairchild is also shooting 46.8 percent from the field on this season. Senior Shannon Hovanesian is the team leader in steals (27) and assists (20) to go with 15 goals. In front of the cage, freshman Emma Pfister has played the most minutes as she has racked up 62 saves and a team-best 7.23 goals-against average in over 230 minutes of action.

CSUN will take on Michigan for the second time this season on Saturday morning. The Wolverines are 9-1 against the Matadors all time after posting a 14-5 win at the UCSB Winter Invite in January. The Matadors have already faced Azusa Pacific twice this season, winning a 7-6 a decision at the UCSB Winter Invite along with posting a 7-4 victory in February. CSUN is 9-0 all time against APU. The Matadors have only squared off with Iona once in their history with that match taking place in 2004 as CSUN prevailed 9-3. In 11 all time meetings with Bucknell, the Matadors are a perfect 11-0 but the teams have not met since 2013.

A Closer Look at Michigan
The Wolverines are 10-7 this season, and come in with a three-match winning streak. Michigan posted victories over Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara at UC San Diego at last week's Barbara Kalbus Invitational. The team's seven losses this season have all come against Top 10 teams. Sophomore Maddy Steere leads the team with 30 goals to go along with 14 assists and 13 steals. Sophomore Heidi Ritner has spent nearly 400 minutes in net and racked up 95 saves.

A Closer Look at Azusa Pacific
The Cougars received votes in this week's Collegiate Water Polo Association Top 25 poll. APU is 8-4 and have a Top 25 win this season (Cal State East Bay). The tandem of senior Britt Harris and sophomore Sarah Adams share the team lead in scoring with 19 goals while freshman Britni Tisdale is a close second with 18 goals. Senior Erica Marquez has spent 278 minutes in front of the cage and accumulated 67 saves on the year.

A Closer Look at Iona
The Gaels are 2-13 this season and come in to the invite with a five-match losing streak. Iona does have a Top 25 win this season as the Gaels upended Brown last month. Senior Hannah Schultz has hit the net a team-best 39 times this season to go with 10 steals. Fellow senior Kayla Allen also have 26 goals and nine assists for Iona. Another senior, Britten Vilander has 71 saves on the year in 342 minutes of action at goalkeeper.

A Closer Look at Bucknell
Receiving votes in this week's CWPA Top 25 poll, the Bison are 6-4 this season but dropped both of their matches last week at the Princeton Invitational. Freshman Kali Hyham leads the team with 21 goals while junior Emily Konishi has racked up 25 assists and 15 goals. Senior Manuela Herrera has totaled 66 saves in 288 minutes in net.