No. 18 CSUN Splits First Pair of Matches at UCSB Winter Invite

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.---No. 18 CSUN Water Polo opened up the 2019 season with a nail-biting win and an impressive showing versus No.3 UCLA at the UC Santa Barbara Winter Invite on Friday. The Matadors took the opening match against Azusa Pacific after overcoming a three goal deficit to secure a 15-13 victory over the Cougars. In the second match, CSUN hung in the contest against a tough No. 3 UCLA team, tying the most goals against UCLA in team history (6), but ultimately fell short 10-6.

Game One Recap

The Matadors were led in the first match by Jennalyn Barthels who tallied five goals, three earned ejections, two assists, and one steal in the opening victory against Azusa Pacific. Junior transfer Tori Wilson made a statement in her first game in a CSUN cap as she scored four goals herself while tallying two earned ejections, a steal and an assist. Senior Lindsey Garcia added two goals and two assists as well.

Both teams went back and forth in the first quarter with Azusa Pacific edging out CSUN in the early going with a 5-4 lead after a Britni Tisdale goal gave the Cougars the advantage after one frame. The see-saw battle continued in the second quarter as APU maintained its one goal advantage at the end of the first half. Barthels led all scorers with four goals at the break.

With 5:42 left in the third quarter, the Cougars took a two goal advantage off the back of Milena Guzman as the lead begun to slip from CSUN. A goal by Wilson eight seconds later however, brought momentum back to the Matadors' side. Sara Dempsey would even the scoring shortly after at the 3:14 mark with a strike to tie the game at 11 apiece. One more goal on each side would end the third tied at 12.

In the fourth period, the Matadors got out in front early and didn't give up the lead. The Matadors scored four unanswered goals after being down 12-11, with a huge contribution from newcomer Wilson who scored two goals in the quarter including the strike that gave the Matadors their biggest lead of the game at 15-12. CSUN would stave off a late charge by the Cougars, but ultimately hang on for the victory.

"There were some nerves that shined through in the first game, always an excitement that comes along with getting the season started," said head coach Matt Warshaw. "The comeback against APU showed some good character from our group. It's not a secret we have a lot of athletes taking on larger roles this year and seeing them stick together through adversity was a nice way to earn our first victory of 2019."

APU - 5-4-3-2 = 14
CSUN - 4-4-4-3 = 15

APU Goals: Guzman 4, Alcaraz 2, Alvarez 2, Adam 2, (Batcheller, Hoyle, Martinez, Tisdale) 1
CSUN Goals: Barthels 5, Wilson 4, Garcia 2, (Butler, Dempsey, Fusco, Jansen) 1
APU Saves: N/A
CSUN Saves: Pfister 11

Game Two Recap

In the second match of the afternoon, the Matadors had their hands full with No.3 UCLA, but kept pace in the first quarter, only allowing the Bruins three goals in the first. A Wilson strike put the Matadors just one goal away from tying the match in the second quarter, making it a 3-2 game in favor of UCLA. The Bruins would then score four unanswered to end the half, making it a 7-2 game at the break.

CSUN would hold UCLA scoreless in the third period, but only managed to scratch one off the lead in the form of a McKenzie Beardsley goal to make it 7-3. CSUN would score three goals in the fourth, but the Bruins responded with three goals of their own to make it a 10-6 final. Emma Pfister would tally 10 saves in the defeat.

"I'm proud of how we executed the game plan against a top three team in the country," said Warshaw. "We stuck together and our team defense was much improved from the first game."

CSUN - 1-1-1-3 = 6
UCLA - 3-4-0-3 =10

UCLA Goals: Ayala 3, Maxson 2, (Baia, Reego, Rozebo, Sheldon, Whitelegge) 1
CSUN Goals: Jansen 2, (Wilson, Barthels, Andon, Beardsley) 1
UCLA Saves: N/A
CSUN Saves: Pfister 10

The Matadors continue the UCSB Winter Invite with matches against No. 24 Cal Baptist at 8:30 a.m. and No.9 Michigan at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

~GoMatadors.com~

No. 18 CSUN Splits First Pair of Matches at UCSB Winter Invite

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Players Mentioned

Jennalyn Barthels

McKenzie Beardsley

Sara Dempsey

Lindsey Garcia

Emma Pfister

Tori Wilson