Matadors Defeat Whittier and Redlands at Bulldog Invite

REDLANDS, Calif.---No. 20 CSUN Water Polo notched two double-digit victories on Saturday at the Bulldog Invitational. The Matadors defeated Whittier College 18-8 and cruised past host Redlands 17-3 to improve to 10-4 on the season. Senior Jennalyn Barthels scored five goals on the day including a four-goal performance against Redlands while sophomore Kaitlyn Moguel had five goals as well between the two matches. Freshman Piper McCulloch recorded 12 total saves at goalkeeper.

The team's 14-game start to the year is the program's best since 2010 when that squad started the year 11-3.

CSUN-Whittier Recap
In a back-and-forth first quarter, Whitter struck first with goals from Natasha Velez and Sawyer Bellville to stake to a 2-0 lead. Tori Wilson would get the Matadors on the scoreboard with 5:30 to play and Kaitlyn Moguel evened the match a minute later off a feed from Katia Andon-Mateos. After Bellville put the Poets back on top, Madasonne Butler hit the back of the net to tie the match once more. Whitter pulled in front 4-3 but the Matadors tied the score after a late goal from Jennalyn Barthels. CSUN took its first lead in the opening minute of the second quarter behind a goal from Wilson. Butler added to the lead with 5:50 on the clock before Whitter stormed back with consecutive goals from Teresa Marchetti and Ana Alumbaugh. With the game even and a few ticks on the clock in the half, Helena Sandhagen broke the tie to give the Matadors a 7-6 lead.

The Matadors finally gained some separation in the third quarter, outscoring the Poets 5-0. Sandhagen scored again on a penalty shot then Butler drilled a shot on an even-strength possession. Moguel hit the net to put the Matadors into double-digits. After a missed shot by McKenzie Beardsley, Yuri Cowie scored after CSUN recovered the ball. Dafne Garcia capped off the scoring in the third quarter with 10 seconds left to play to put the Matadors up 12-6. CSUN would add six more tallies in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. Butler notched her fourth goal of the match while Moguel completed the hat trick in the fourth period. Carly Bockstahler scored her first career goal in the final quarter and Lacey Hall also got into the scoring act down the stretch.

Wilson had five assists in the contest to go with three steals while Beardsley had three assists. McCulloch registered nine saves in two quarters of action.

"We got off to a slow start and we need to be better right from the start if we expect to compete in the Big West games," said head coach Matt Warshaw. "In the second half, our bench played well and outscored Whittier 11-2. We'll know in the upcoming weeks if we learned our lesson today."

Goals by Quarter:
Whittier: 4-2-0-2 = 8
CSUN: 4-3-5-6 = 18

Whittier Goals: Au 2, Bellville 2, Alumbaugh 1, Burke 1, Marchetti 1, Velez 1
CSUN Goals: Butler 4 (11), Moguel 3 (10), Wilson 2 (19), Sandhagen 2 (16), Garcia 2 (6), Barthels 1 (13), Marquez 1 (5), Cowie 1 (3), Hall 1 (2), Bockstahler 1

Whittier Saves: Tapia 9, Pou 1
CSUN Saves: McCulloch 9 (56), Lopez 4 (79)

CSUN-Redlands Recap
The Bulldogs jumped in front on a goal from Hunter Olivier but CSUN quickly tied the match up on a tally from Andon-Mateos. The Matadors owned the final three minutes of the opening period, as Barthels scored twice and Marquez added another goal to give CSUN a 5-1 edge. The offense continued to roll in the second quarter with Moguel quickly pushing the lead to five. Andon-Mateos and Barthels both added to their offensive totals in the quarter while Sandhagen also hit the back the net. Bockstahler pushed the lead to 11-3 with a shot with five seconds left to play in the half.

After giving up three goals in the first half, the Matadors shutout the Bulldogs over the final 16 minutes of the match. The combination of Barthels and Andon-Mateos continued to be a problem for the Bulldogs as each senior scored again in the period. Cowie's goal with less than a minute to play pushed the lead even further to 14-3. The Matadors completed a 6-0 second half with three more tallies including goals from Sandhagen, Cowie and Bockstahler.

Andon-Mateos added five assists with three steals to her impressive stat line while Cowie also had five assists and a field block. Meghan Lopez had four saves to lead the way in front of the cage.

"We're proud of the defensive effort in the game, holding Redlands to three goals," said Warshaw. "Our ability to capitalize on opportunities was the difference. Our outside shooters had a nice afternoon and we got some nice contributions from some of our younger players."

Goals by Quarter:
CSUN: 5-6-3-3 = 17
Redlands: 1-2-0-0 = 3

CSUN Goals: Barthels 4 (17), Andon-Mateos 3 (21), Sandhagen 2 (18), Moguel 2 (12), Cowie 2 (5), Bockstahler 2 (3), Wilson 1 (20), Marquez 1 (6)
Redlands Goals: Olivier 2, Holloman 1

CSUN Saves: Lopez 4 (83), McCulloch 3 (59)
Redlands Saves: Ross 5, Zielinski 2

UP NEXT
CSUN heads to Chapman University on Wednesday afternoon for a pair of matches. The Matadors take on the University of Toronto at 11 a.m. before meeting the host Panthers at 3 p.m.

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Matadors Defeat Whittier and Redlands at Bulldog Invite

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Players Mentioned

Katia Andon-Mateos

Jennalyn Barthels

McKenzie Beardsley

Carly Bockstahler

Madasonne Butler

Yuri Cowie

Dafne Garcia

Lacey Hall

Meghan Lopez

Piper McCulloch

Kaitlyn Moguel

Helena Sandhagen

Tori Wilson