#19 CSUN Water Polo Goes 2-0 at Beach Invite

LONG BEACH, Calif.---No. 19 CSUN Water Polo (4-2) led for nearly entire day on Saturday en route to two victories at the Beach Invite. The Matadors defeated No. 24 Azusa Pacific 9-5 to open the day and cruised past La Verne, 19-7. Sophomore Kylee Jansen scored a team-high five goals in the two wins while senior Madasonne Butler netted four total goals and sophomore Kaitlyn Moguel had a four-goal effort against La Verne.

In front of the cage, freshman Meghan Lopez notched 12 saves in the morning game while freshman Piper McCulloch racked up eight saves in game two.

CSUN-AZUSA PACIFIC RECAP
Jansen powered the Matadors in the first quarter, tallying two goals including a power play strike. Britni Tisdale cut the CSUN lead in half near the midway mark of the period but the Matadors kept the Cougars off the scoreboard the rest of the quarter. APU would even the game in the opening minute of the second period before the Matadors took control to close the half. After Jennalyn Barthels scored on a power play, Butler doubled the lead with an even-strength goal. Tori Wilson and Alessia Marquez each found the back of the net with under two minutes to play to give the Matadors a 6-2 lead at halftime.

The third period would be a defensive struggle with each team collecting a goal apiece. Hannah Bradley trimmed the CSUN lead to three in the opening minute but the Matador defense held firm with Lopez picking up three saves. Wilson added to the Matadors' lead with her second strike near the midway mark of the third period. In the fourth, Jansen completed the hat trick and Butler picked up her second goal as CSUN never led by less than four goals.

Wislon finished with a team-high five steals in the match while Barthels recorded three assists, two field blocks and a steal. Marquez added two assists and two steals. Lopez also picked up a steal and recorded an earned ejection in front of the net.

"It was a nice early season test to see if we've improved since last week," said head coach Matt Warshaw. "We felt like our matchups were better today and we were able to execute our game plan."

Goals by Quarter:
APU: 1-1-1-2 = 5
CSUN: 2-4-1-2 = 9

APU Goals: Adams 2, Guzman Ortiz 1, Tisdale 1, Bradley 1
CSUN Goals: Jansen 3 (9), Wilson 2 (8), Butler 2 (3), Barthels 1 (5), Marquez 1

APU Saves: Lott 12
CSUN Saves: Lopez 12 (38)

CSUN-LA VERNE RECAP
The Matadors took control early with a dominant first period for a 6-0 lead. Jansen once again got the Matadors' offense started with a goal on the first possession then Barthels scored twice on power plays. McKenzie Beardsley tallied her first goal of the season and Helena Sandhagen added another with under three minutes to play. Moguel made it a six-goal lead with a late goal. It would be a back-and-forth second quarter with nine goals scored but the Matadors went into the break ahead 11-4. Yuri Cowie got into the scoring column on a penalty shot before Moguel, Katia Andon-Mateos and Emma Franck all scored goals of their own.

After halftime, the Matadors kept up their scoring ways, outscoring the Leopards 6-1 in the third period. All six goals came on even-strength possessions as Moguel scored twice to push her total to four goals. Andon-Mateos completed a hat trick in the final stanza while Butler notched her second goal of the match as CSUN completed the wire-to-wire victory.

Wilson and Marquez each had three steals and two assists while Barthels, Andon-Mateos, Franck and Beardsley all had two assists. McCulloch also had three assists to go with her eight saves.

"It was nice to see our production on the offensive end today," said Warshaw. "Anytime we can score 19 goals we'll be happy with the results."

Goals by Quarter:
La Verne: 0-4-1-2 = 7
CSUN: 6-5-6-2 = 19

La Verne Goals: Mattson 2, Thompson 1, Trinh 1, Castrellon 1, Kezman 1, Riedel 1
CSUN Goals: Moguel 4 (5), Andon-Mateos 3 (7), Jansen 2 (11), Barthels 2 (7), Sandhagen 2 (7), Butler 2 (5), Wilson 1 (9), Franck 1 (2), Cowie 1 (2), Beardsley 1

La Verne Saves: Valdez 4, Garcia 2
CSUN Saves: McCulloch 8 (27)

UP NEXT
The Matadors head to California Baptist on Friday, Jan. 31 for a pair of matches. CSUN takes on the host Lancers at noon before taking on Fresno Pacific at 2:30 p.m.

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#19 CSUN Water Polo Goes 2-0 at Beach Invite

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Players Mentioned

Katia Andon-Mateos

Jennalyn Barthels

McKenzie Beardsley

Madasonne Butler

Yuri Cowie

Emma Franck

Kylee Jansen

Meghan Lopez

Alessia Marquez

Piper McCulloch

Kaitlyn Moguel

Helena Sandhagen

Tori Wilson