
Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald
Matadors Earn Split at Whittier Invitational
3/26/2023 2:46:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
WHITTIER, Calif.---No. 22 CSUN Water Polo (16-9) earned a split on Sunday at the Whittier Invitational. The Matadors knocked off Whittier in the opener 13-6 before dropping a low-scoring battle to No. 21 Brown 5-2 to close the day.
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GAME 1 RECAP
The Matadors blitzed Whittier at the outset and never looked back in the first match of the day. Shelby Hovanesian opened up the scoring with a goal two minutes into the contest while Helena Sandhagen added to the lead near the four-minute mark. After Nicole Thomas stretched the lead to three, Jessica Matkovich closed a 4-0 first quarter for CSUN.
In the second quarter, Dorottya Telek netted back-to-back goals within a 22-second span then Anna Pal hit the net as well to put the Matadors on top 7-0. CSUN held Whittier scoreless until the 4:54 mark of the second quarter when Ally Burke scored. Whittier closed to within 7-2 with under a minute to play in the first half, but Pal answered for CSUN to close the period for an 8-2 lead.
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The Matadors continued to find contributions from different players as Lacey Hall and Jessica Matkovich each scored to open the third quarter. CSUN grew its lead to as big as nine in the fourth period as Telek, Tatum Scarry and Carly Bockstahler collected goals. A pair of late goals from Burke closed the match.
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Meghan Lopez finished with 13 saves in front of the cage. Pal added four assists to go with her two goals while Nicole Bacoyanis, Hall, Sandhagen and Telek each had two steals.
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GAME 2 RECAP
CSUN and Brown battled in a defensive struggle for 32 minutes. The Bears would strike early in the first quarter on a goal from Claire Pisani 31 seconds into the match. CSUN though held the Bears scoreless over the next seven-plus minutes as the Matadors withstood four power plays.
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The Matadors would trail 1-0 after eight minutes before the Bears doubled their lead on a tally from Sierra Martin to open the second period. CSUN held Brown to just the single goal for a second-straight period, however, the Matadors were unable to find the net. Brown committed three exclusions in the second quarter, but CSUN could not take advantage as the Bears led 2-0 at halftime.
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In the third quarter, Brown netted two goals to extend its lead to 4-0. Meanwhile, CSUN was blanked for a third-straight eight-minute session.
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The Matadors finally broke up the shutout in the opening minute-plus of the fourth quarter when Valeria Martinez hit the net on a power play. Less than a minute later, Telek netted her fourth goal of the day to quickly pull CSUN to within 4-2. The Matadors would have opportunities to cut the lead further down the stretch of the fourth quarter but could not find the net. Zoe King closed the afternoon with an insurance goal in the final seconds to secure a Brown win.
Lopez racked up 10 more saves for CSUN while Telek finished with five steals in the contest.
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GAME NOTES
Dorottya Telek moved into eighth place on CSUN's all-time career scoring list at 165 goals. Telek also pushed her season goal tally to 88.
ACCORDING TO COACH MATT WARSHAW
"A solid team win against Whittier with contributions from the entire roster. Nice to see us start off the early morning game well.
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Holding a top-20 opponent to five goals shows that we are making strides on defense, but coming up short on the offensive end is disappointing. I'm proud of the tenacity we played with in this game. Our girls battled through adversity all game and had chances to win it."
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UP NEXT
The Matadors return to Big West action next weekend with another road test against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, April 1 at noon.
#GoMatadors
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GAME 1 RECAP
The Matadors blitzed Whittier at the outset and never looked back in the first match of the day. Shelby Hovanesian opened up the scoring with a goal two minutes into the contest while Helena Sandhagen added to the lead near the four-minute mark. After Nicole Thomas stretched the lead to three, Jessica Matkovich closed a 4-0 first quarter for CSUN.
In the second quarter, Dorottya Telek netted back-to-back goals within a 22-second span then Anna Pal hit the net as well to put the Matadors on top 7-0. CSUN held Whittier scoreless until the 4:54 mark of the second quarter when Ally Burke scored. Whittier closed to within 7-2 with under a minute to play in the first half, but Pal answered for CSUN to close the period for an 8-2 lead.
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The Matadors continued to find contributions from different players as Lacey Hall and Jessica Matkovich each scored to open the third quarter. CSUN grew its lead to as big as nine in the fourth period as Telek, Tatum Scarry and Carly Bockstahler collected goals. A pair of late goals from Burke closed the match.
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Meghan Lopez finished with 13 saves in front of the cage. Pal added four assists to go with her two goals while Nicole Bacoyanis, Hall, Sandhagen and Telek each had two steals.
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GAME 2 RECAP
CSUN and Brown battled in a defensive struggle for 32 minutes. The Bears would strike early in the first quarter on a goal from Claire Pisani 31 seconds into the match. CSUN though held the Bears scoreless over the next seven-plus minutes as the Matadors withstood four power plays.
Â
The Matadors would trail 1-0 after eight minutes before the Bears doubled their lead on a tally from Sierra Martin to open the second period. CSUN held Brown to just the single goal for a second-straight period, however, the Matadors were unable to find the net. Brown committed three exclusions in the second quarter, but CSUN could not take advantage as the Bears led 2-0 at halftime.
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In the third quarter, Brown netted two goals to extend its lead to 4-0. Meanwhile, CSUN was blanked for a third-straight eight-minute session.
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The Matadors finally broke up the shutout in the opening minute-plus of the fourth quarter when Valeria Martinez hit the net on a power play. Less than a minute later, Telek netted her fourth goal of the day to quickly pull CSUN to within 4-2. The Matadors would have opportunities to cut the lead further down the stretch of the fourth quarter but could not find the net. Zoe King closed the afternoon with an insurance goal in the final seconds to secure a Brown win.
Lopez racked up 10 more saves for CSUN while Telek finished with five steals in the contest.
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GAME NOTES
Dorottya Telek moved into eighth place on CSUN's all-time career scoring list at 165 goals. Telek also pushed her season goal tally to 88.
ACCORDING TO COACH MATT WARSHAW
"A solid team win against Whittier with contributions from the entire roster. Nice to see us start off the early morning game well.
Â
Holding a top-20 opponent to five goals shows that we are making strides on defense, but coming up short on the offensive end is disappointing. I'm proud of the tenacity we played with in this game. Our girls battled through adversity all game and had chances to win it."
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UP NEXT
The Matadors return to Big West action next weekend with another road test against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, April 1 at noon.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
CSUN
WHIT
Shots
24
21
Goals
13
6
Assists
9
0
Points
22
6
Exclusions
7
7
Steals
11
0
Sprints
2
1
1
Shelby Hovanesian
5:57
Helena Sandhagen
3:54
Nicole Thomas
2:40
Jessica Matkovich
1:00
2
Dorottya Telek
7:25
Dorottya Telek
7:03
Anna Pal
6:28
Ally Burke
4:54
Haley Kivett
0:57
Anna Pal
0:33
3
Lacey Hall
6:22
Jessica Matkovich
3:01
Margarita Moreno
1:46
Amelia Bennett
0:13
4
Tatum Scarry
6:38
Dorottya Telek
4:47
Carly Bockstahler
1:46
Ally Burke
1:34
Ally Burke
0:03
Game Leaders
Players
Players Mentioned
A Conversation With Matt Warshaw
Friday, May 15
National Student-Athlete Day 2019 - McKenzie Beardsley
Friday, April 05
CSUN Water Polo Report
Friday, February 10
Meet the Matadors - 2017 Women's Water Polo
Wednesday, January 18