Saturday, March 4
Cambridge, Mass.
9:00 a.m.
California State University at Northridge
12-4
15
vs
9
La Salle
9-7
1
2
3
4
F
Cal State Northridge
7
2
4
2
15
La Salle
3
2
2
2
9
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Opens Harvard Invitational with Two Wins
3/4/2023 8:30:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.---No. 24 CSUN Water Polo completed day one of the Harvard Invitational with a pair of wins on Saturday at Blodgett Pool. The Matadors defeated both La Salle and Siena by 15-9 scores on the day. Ten different Matadors hit the net on the day with leading scorer Dorottya Telek topping the team with 10 goals. Meghan Lopez played all 64 minutes in front of the cage, racking up 17 combined saves.
GAME ONE RECAP
The Matadors never trailed against La Salle as Anna Pal opened up the scoring in the first minute. After the Explorers evend the match, Pal gave CSUN the lead right back and Telek scored back-to-back goals to extend the lead further. A tally from Tatiana Smeltzer along with two goals from Shelby Hovanesian put CSUN on top 7-3 after eight minutes.
The second quarter saw four goals scored with each squad scoring two apiece. Valeria Martinez and Helena Sandhagen scorerd for CSUN but La Salle entered halftime trailing by just a 9-5 margin after a late penalty shot.
Sandhagen would score a penalty shot of her own in the third period, which was followed by a Telek goal on the power play. Telek continued her dominant offensive play with another tally before Nicole Bacoyanis scored on a 7-on-6 possession late in the period for a CSUN 13-7 lead.
The Explorers though would not go away quietly, scoring the first two goals of the fourth period to pull to within four. However, CSUN's defense would keep La Salle off the scoreboard over the last three-plus minutes while Telek scored twice more to close the match.
Pal had three assists to go with two goals and two steals. Lopez finished with eight saves on the defensive end.
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GAME TWO RECAP
Much like the earlier match, CSUN jumped on Siena at the outset and never looked back. Telek continued where she left off in the La Salle game with two early goals for CSUN. The Matadors would give up a goal but score the next three with Pal, Jessica Matkovich and Kate Cornejo all hitting the net. A penalty shot from Lily Graham and a goal from Finn Magill cut the CSUN lead to two, but Pal scored a buzzer beater to extend the lead to 6-3 after eight minutes.
The opening two minutes of the second quarter just saw a single goal for either side with CSUN maintaining a three-goal edge. Martinez and Hovanesian each scored under the three-minute mark before Siena answered with two-straight goals. In similar fashion to the first period, Bacoyanis scored a late goal to send CSUN into halftime up 10-6.
The Matadors would pull away in the third period with a dominant defensive quarter, holding the Saints scoreless. Meanwhile, Telek notched two more goals and Martinez added another. Carly Bockstahler also scored twice in front of the cage to extend the CSUN lead to a commanding 15-6. Siena ended the scoreless drought in the fourth quarter, but could not make up the gap.
Lopez recorded nine saves to go with two assists. Bacoyanis led the team with three assists in the match.
ACCORDING TO COACH MATT WARSHAW
"Complete team effort against La Salle. With a cross country travel day yesterday and an early game this morning, it felt good to start off the tournament with a win. I liked how we controlled the pace from start to finish while at the same time playing match up water polo.
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In the Siena game, we made a few in-game adjustments and we shut them out in third quarter to really take control of the game. Another team victory was great to see as we got contributions from the entire team. We will rest tonight and get ready for two big games tomorrow."
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UP NEXT
CSUN wraps up the Harvard Invitational on Sunday with two more matches. The Matadors take on #19 Harvard at 6:20 a.m. PT before taking on Carthage College at 9 a.m. PT.
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#UniteTheValley
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GAME ONE RECAP
The Matadors never trailed against La Salle as Anna Pal opened up the scoring in the first minute. After the Explorers evend the match, Pal gave CSUN the lead right back and Telek scored back-to-back goals to extend the lead further. A tally from Tatiana Smeltzer along with two goals from Shelby Hovanesian put CSUN on top 7-3 after eight minutes.
The second quarter saw four goals scored with each squad scoring two apiece. Valeria Martinez and Helena Sandhagen scorerd for CSUN but La Salle entered halftime trailing by just a 9-5 margin after a late penalty shot.
Sandhagen would score a penalty shot of her own in the third period, which was followed by a Telek goal on the power play. Telek continued her dominant offensive play with another tally before Nicole Bacoyanis scored on a 7-on-6 possession late in the period for a CSUN 13-7 lead.
The Explorers though would not go away quietly, scoring the first two goals of the fourth period to pull to within four. However, CSUN's defense would keep La Salle off the scoreboard over the last three-plus minutes while Telek scored twice more to close the match.
Pal had three assists to go with two goals and two steals. Lopez finished with eight saves on the defensive end.
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GAME TWO RECAP
Much like the earlier match, CSUN jumped on Siena at the outset and never looked back. Telek continued where she left off in the La Salle game with two early goals for CSUN. The Matadors would give up a goal but score the next three with Pal, Jessica Matkovich and Kate Cornejo all hitting the net. A penalty shot from Lily Graham and a goal from Finn Magill cut the CSUN lead to two, but Pal scored a buzzer beater to extend the lead to 6-3 after eight minutes.
The opening two minutes of the second quarter just saw a single goal for either side with CSUN maintaining a three-goal edge. Martinez and Hovanesian each scored under the three-minute mark before Siena answered with two-straight goals. In similar fashion to the first period, Bacoyanis scored a late goal to send CSUN into halftime up 10-6.
The Matadors would pull away in the third period with a dominant defensive quarter, holding the Saints scoreless. Meanwhile, Telek notched two more goals and Martinez added another. Carly Bockstahler also scored twice in front of the cage to extend the CSUN lead to a commanding 15-6. Siena ended the scoreless drought in the fourth quarter, but could not make up the gap.
Lopez recorded nine saves to go with two assists. Bacoyanis led the team with three assists in the match.
ACCORDING TO COACH MATT WARSHAW
"Complete team effort against La Salle. With a cross country travel day yesterday and an early game this morning, it felt good to start off the tournament with a win. I liked how we controlled the pace from start to finish while at the same time playing match up water polo.
Â
In the Siena game, we made a few in-game adjustments and we shut them out in third quarter to really take control of the game. Another team victory was great to see as we got contributions from the entire team. We will rest tonight and get ready for two big games tomorrow."
Â
UP NEXT
CSUN wraps up the Harvard Invitational on Sunday with two more matches. The Matadors take on #19 Harvard at 6:20 a.m. PT before taking on Carthage College at 9 a.m. PT.
Â
#UniteTheValley
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Team Stats
SC
CSUN
Shots
14
24
Goals
9
15
Assists
2
14
Points
11
29
Exclusions
4
9
Steals
11
16
Sprints
0
4
1
Dorottya Telek
7:32
Dorottya Telek
6:20
Lily Graham
5:36
Anna Pal
5:13
Jessica Matkovich
4:29
Kate Cornejo
3:51
Lily Graham
2:11
Finn Magill
0:13
Anna Pal
0:01
2
Shelby Hovanesian
6:28
Lily Graham
6:01
Valeria Martinez
2:52
Shelby Hovanesian
1:26
Grace Boeve
0:59
Finn Magill
0:19
Nicole Bacoyanis
0:03
3
Dorottya Telek
5:35
Dorottya Telek
4:51
Valeria Martinez
3:23
Carly Bockstahler
1:38
Carly Bockstahler
1:26
4
Sydney Arnold
5:39
Bianca Kennerley
3:41
Parker Thomas
0:57
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
5
Goals
4
Assists
0
Points
4
Shots
3
Goals
2
Assists
1
Points
3
Shots
2
Goals
2
Assists
0
Points
2
Players Mentioned
Attacker
/ Women's Water PoloCenter
/ Women's Water Polo
Utility
/ Women's Water PoloAttacker
/ Women's Water Polo
Goalkeeper
/ Women's Water Polo
Utility
/ Women's Water Polo
Utility
/ Women's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Women's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Women's Water PoloCenter
/ Women's Water PoloA Conversation With Matt Warshaw
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