#23 CSUN Water Polo Opens Busy Weekend at #11 LMU on Friday

Friday, February 9

Los Angeles, Calif.

4:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

#11 LMU

Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald

#23 CSUN Water Polo Opens Busy Weekend at #11 LMU on Friday

2/8/2024 10:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---No. 23 CSUN Water Polo opens a three-match weekend on Friday afternoon when the Matadors travel to No. 11 LMU at 4 p.m. The weekend will conclude at the Claremont Mudd-Scripps (CMS) where CSUN will take on Concordia at 12 p.m. and CMS at 3 p.m. The Matadors' match with LMU will be broadcast on ESPN+ while CMS will video stream both contests on Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT
CSUN improved to 4-2 on the season with two wins at the Bulldog Mini Invite at the University of Redlands last weekend.

The Matadors would defeat Redlands 19-2 to open the day. Seven different Matadors hit the net, highlighted by Kianna Melvin's six goals scored. The trio of Dorottya Telek, Nicole Thomas and Jessica Matkovich had three goals apiece as well. Samantha Bright racked up eight saves in 24 minutes in front of the cage. CSUN led 7-0 after one period and never looked back in the match.

CSUN would have to dig out of an early 5-1 hole against APU before coming from behind for an 11-10 victory. The Matadors overcame a three-goal deficit in the fourth, but still trailed 9-8 heading into the final minute. CSUN would get the final possession in the final seconds where Anna Pal tied the game up to send the match into overtime. While in OT, CSUN again fell behind, but Pal squared the game at 10-10 late in the first overtime then hit what would be the game winner in the second overtime. Pal and Helena Sandhagen had four goals apiece while Telek finished with two. Meghan Lopez racked up 14 saves.

LEADING SCORERS
Dorottya Telek has scored a team-leading 28 goals through six games. Telek is shooting a robust 60.9 percent from the field to go with seven assists. Helena Sandgahen is second on the team in goals with nine with 12 points while Anna Pal has eight goals and 18 points. Shelby Hovanesian tops the team in the assist department with 13 and in steals with five. As a team, CSUN is shooting 44.7 percent from the field.

IN FRONT OF THE CAGE
Meghan Lopez has appeared in four matches in net, totaling 47 saves with a .566 save percentage. Also in net, Kiana Kellner had 11 saves and Samantha Bright had 10 saves, both of which in 40 minutes of action.

TELEK'S RECORD CHASE
Center Dorottya Telek continues to inch closer to breaking yet another CSUN goal record. Telek stands at 206 career goals and in fifth place on the all-time school scoring list. She is six goals away from surpassing Lindsy Duncan (211 goals) for fourth place on the career scoring list. CSUN's top three career scorers are Madeleine Sanchez (229), Allison Brookes (222) and Marisa Young (216). Telek has already set a new single-season goal record (101 in 2023) and single-game goal marks (nine on Jan. 20, 2024) while with CSUN.

SCOUTING LMU
The Lions were ranked No. 11 in this week's CWPA top-25 national poll. LMU comes in with a 9-2 overall record. Last season, LMU went 15-15 overall and 6-1 in the Golden Coast Conference The team's top returning scorer this season is Ruth Arino Ruiz who netted 56 goals and 60 assists last season. In front of the cage, Madison Davis had 158 saves with a 12.78 GAA last year.

Series History: LMU leads CSUN 18-3 in the all-time series, but the teams have not played since the 2018 season. The Lions did win the teams' last meeting by a 9-5 score. CSUN is 1-7 all-time at LMU in the series.

SCOUTING CONCORDIA
The Eagles are 2-4 on the season after dropping three of four games at the Triton Invitational last week. CUI's two wins this season have come against La Verne (15-8) and California Baptist (11-10). In 2023, Concordia had a 16-16 overall record. Tessa Tavaglione is the team's returning scorer with 113 goals last season. In net, Kylie Van Leeuwen finished with 364 saves last year.

Series History: CSUN leads Concordia 9-0 in the all-time series. The last three meetings in the series have been decided by a combined five goals. CSUN knocked off the Eagles last season twice with victories by 11-10 and 12-9 scores.

SCOUTING CLAREMONT MUDD-SCRIPPS
The Athenas have a 2-4 overall record. In last week's action, CMS went 1-3 with a win over St. Francis (15-13). In this week's Division III top-10 poll, CMS is ranked at No. 2. A season ago, CMS finished as the Division III national runner-up. Grace Clarke tops the team with 15 goals this season to go with five assists while Mason Spencer has 29 saves in goal.

Series History: CSUN has won 11 all-time meetings with CMS including a 12-9 win earlier this season at the Beach Invite. Dorottya Telek scored seven goals in the win over CMS.

#GoMatadors