Memorable Matador Moments - Water Polo Knocks Off UCI to Win Share of Big West Title
4/17/2020 10:30:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
In only its eighth year of existence, the CSUN Water Polo squad enjoyed one of its best seasons in team history in 2009. Loaded with a squad of talented scorers and the team's top goalkeeper in program history, the Matadors would have a chance to win the regular season conference title when they visited ninth-ranked UC Irvine on April 18. Behind a vintage defensive effort from Jillian Stapf, the Matadors pulled off an unforgettable 7-5 win, securing a share of the conference title.
After competing for four seasons in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, the Matadors made the move to the Big West Conference in 2009. Along with several key returnees, the Matadors boasted two all-americans in Stapf and center Chelsea Curran.
Stapf had already established herself as one of the best goalkeepers in CSUN history over her previous two seasons with the team but she would set new personal and school records in 2009. She tallied 387 saves during the year, eclipsing her previous school record of 348 she set in 2007. Stapf also broke the career save record by topping the 1,000 mark, eventually settling on 1,013 by season's end.
On the offensive end, the Matadors boasted eight different players scoring 20 or more goals, led by senior Jessica Coy's 55. Tara McGinley scored 39 for CSUN while Sydney Sonoda (37), Whitney Delgado (35) and Kirra Kylander (34) were also amongst the team's top scoring threats.
With a slew of nationally-ranked teams in the Big West, the Matadors knew their road to the top would not be an easy one. After a non-conference slate where they picked up three Top 20 wins, the Matadors got off on the right foot in league play with a 12-3 win over Pacific. Despite 20 saves from Stapf, CSUN would fall in overtime to No. 11 UC Davis the following day before bouncing back with wins over No. 15 UC Santa Barbara and No. 16 Long Beach State in consecutive weeks.
In CSUN's final league game against No. 9 UC Irvine, the Matadors knew it would be a battle in order to knock off the Anteaters.
in the win
Allison Pierce got the Matadors' offensive started with a game-tying goal in the first quarter. Pierce then added two more goals to give CSUN its biggest lead at 3-1. However, UC Irvine battled back to tie the game at 4-4 and again at 5-5.
Behind 14 saves from Stapf, the Matadors finally had a chance late to reclaim the lead. In the final moments of the contest, a pair of juniors, Renee Gargiulo and Kylander, found the back of the net to give the Matadors a two-goal lead they would not relinquish.
The win over UCI gave CSUN a share of the Big West regular season title and a No. 1 seed in that season's Big West Tournament. Although they would come up short in the conference tournament, the Matadors finished the year with their second 20-win season in team history and a No. 12 ranking in the country. The win would also springboard them to a second-straight Big West regular season title the following season when they finished with a school-record 28 victories.
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