CSUN Falls to UCSD in Big West Quarterfinal

Friday, April 26

Davis, Calif.

12:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

18-15

#15 UC San Diego

18-11

CSUN

UC San Diego

Dorottya Telek vs. UCSD Big West Tournament 4-26-24

CSUN Falls to UCSD in Big West Quarterfinal

4/26/2024 1:32:00 PM | Women's Water Polo

Box Score

DAVIS, Calif.---Fifth-seeded CSUN's season concluded with an 18-11 loss to fourth-seeded UC San Diego in a Big West quarterfinal match on Friday at Schaal Aquatics Center. Dorottya Telek scored five goals on the day while Tatiana Smeltzer added two tallies.

HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN could not overcome a slow start on Friday as the Tritons raced out to a big lead and never looked back. Kendall Thomas opened up the scoring on the first possession of the match. The lead would double at the 6:44 minute mark on a goal from Courtney Okumura before Caroline Chritsl made it a 3-0 game on a power play. The Matadors missed their first five shot attempts until Telek scored a goal with 4:25 left in the first period. UCSD though answered with three consecutive goals to extend to a 6-1 lead. A late tally from Telek cut the deficit to four, but Abigail Schechter hit the net in the final seconds for a 7-2 lead.

UCSD rode the momentum into another strong start in the second period. CSUN went scoreless for the first four minutes of the period while the Tritons netted five unanswered goals to stretch the lead to 12-2. Shelby Hovanesian ended the scoring drought with a goal at the four-minute mark before Telek and Anna Pal found the net as well, but CSUN looked up at a 14-5 deficit at halftime.

Falling behind as many as 16-5 in the third period, CSUN began to finally see the ball go into the net down the stretch. A pair of strikes from Telek and a single tally from Smeltzer cut the deficit to 17-8 heading into the fourth period. Over the final eight minutes, CSUN outscored the Tritons 3-1 as three different Matadors struck the cage. Smeltzer scored on a power play at the 6:52 mark while Telek registered her fifth goal less than a minute later. Jessica Matkovich closed the scoring with a buzzer beater on a power play.

In net, Meghan Lopez registered six saves and played the first three quarters before being lifted for Samantha Bright who played the final quarter in net and allowed just one goal.

NOTES OF THE MATCH

No. 17 CSUN wraps up its season at 18-15 while No. 15 UC San Diego improves to 18-11.
The Matadors' 18 wins in 2024 are the most for the program in 10 seasons.
Lopez finishes her collegiate career with 832 saves, good for second most in school history.
Also wrapping up their CSUN career on Friday included Hovanesian, Smeltzer, Nicole Thomas, Beata Hitterer, Maria Sandoghdar and Jenna Olson.

ACCORDING TO COACH MATT WARSHAW
"We battled the best we could given the circumstances. This season presented some unusual challenges to say the least. I couldn't be prouder of the ability to persevere through the adversity that this team has shown over the course of a grueling season. A sincere thank you to the seven seniors who are undoubtedly leaving the program in a better place. We'll take a short time to rest and hit the recruiting trail this summer. Already excited for next season."

#GoMatadors