No. 19 CSUN Visits Long Beach State in Big West Clash

Saturday, March 31

Long Beach, CA

12:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

#14 Long Beach State

Photo by: Samuel Ware

No. 19 CSUN Visits Long Beach State in Big West Clash

3/30/2018 10:16:00 AM | Women's Water Polo

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---No. 19 CSUN Water Polo (15-12, 0-1 BWC) returns to Big West play this weekend as the Matadors visit No. 14 Long Beach State on Saturday at noon. Live stats will be available for the match.

The Matadors hosted their first three matches of the season last weekend, winning twice. CSUN earned its fifth Top 25 victory of the season with a 14-4 win over No. 25 Cal State East Bay. The Matadors were edged by No. 12 Hartwick in sudden victory overtime 12-11 on Saturday. The team then bounced back with an emphatic 16-3 win over Redlands.

Senior attacker Madeleine Sanchez led the way offensively with eight goals, three assists and three steals. Fellow senior Katelyn Fairchild collected six goals on the weekend including four against Cal State East Bay while sophomore Madasonne Butler added four goals in two matches. In front of the net, senior Niki Van Vugt collected six saves and allowed no goals against the Pioneers. Van Vugt also tallied eight more saves in nearly 40 minutes of action in the Hartwick match. Freshman Nathalie Brewster allowed no goals and registered nine saves in two quarters of action in the win over Redlands.

For her efforts last week, Sanchez received her third career Big West Player of the Week nod. Sanchez pushed her season goal total to 43 on the season, which is second-best in the Big West. She also moved ahead of Marisa Young (2012-15) for second place on the Matadors' career scoring list with 218 goals. Sanchez needs just five more goals to break Allison Brookes' (2005-08) all-time Matador career record of 222 goals.

Behind Sanchez, Fairchild is second on the team in scoring with 39 goals followed by senior Shannon Hovanesian with 25 goals. Butler and senior Paula Abellan Garcia both have 20 goals apiece. Hovanesian leads the team in assists with 33 while Sanchez has 29 and Fairchild has tallied 24. Fairchild is tops on the Matadors with 44 steals followed closely by Hovanesian (41) and Sanchez (37).

Van Vugt has amassed 149 saves and a career-best 7.08 goals-against-average in over 488 minutes of action. Freshman Emma Pfister has recorded 76 saves and an 8.38 GAA while Brewster has 30 saves and an 11.38 GAA.

The Matadors are 9-21 all time against Long Beach State but CSUN snapped a four-match skid with an 8-7 win over the 49ers on Feb. 10 at the Triton Invitational. Fairchild lifted the Matadors to victory over the 49ers on a game-winning strike in sudden victory overtime while Van Vugt posted a career-high 20 saves. CSUN is 1-8 in matches at Long Beach State, with its only victory coming in 2009.

A Closer Look at Long Beach State
Earlier this month, the 49ers (10-11, 1-1 BWC) opened up Big West play with a 6-5 win over UC Santa Barbara on March 10 but fell a week later to UC Davis 8-7. Long Beach State snapped a two-match skid with a 10-4 win over Brown on Thursday. The team is 4-0 at Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center this season. In 2017, LBSU advanced to the Big West Championship but dropped an 8-7 heartbreaker to UC Irvine in overtime.

Senior Alexandra Massier leads the team with 30 goals on 57.7 percent shooting from the field. Also leading the team offensively, sophomore Maria Eleni Mimidi has scored 24 goals to go with 12 steals while senior Virginia Smith has posted 21 goals, 26 steals and six assists. In front of the cage, junior Eirini Patras has amassed 96 saves and a 5.97 GAA.