Saturday, January 18
Long Beach, Calif.
8:00 a.m.
California State University at Northridge
1-0
17
vs
9
Cal State Monterey Bay
0-1
1
2
3
4
F
Cal State Monterey Bay
3
5
0
1
9
CSUN
5
4
5
3
17
Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald
#16 CSUN Opens 2025 with Two Victories at Beach Invite
1/18/2025 9:26:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
LONG BEACH, Calif.---No. 16 CSUN Water Polo opened up the 2025 season with a pair of victories at the Beach Invite on Saturday at Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center. Senior center Dorottya Telek began the season with 14 total goals over the two matches while Kianna Melvin added five. In the cage, newcomer Erika Staine totaled 26 saves in 48 minutes.
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CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY GAME
CSUN got off to a quick start, scoring on a power play when Telek hit the net in the opening seconds before Melvin followed with a goal of her own for a 2-0 lead. The Otters cut the lead in half, but Telek completed a hat trick soon after with two consecutive goals. Cal State Monterey Bay pulled to within 4-3 near the 90-second mark before Kate Cornejo closed the stanza with a goal for a CSUN 5-3 lead through eight minutes.
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Helena Sandhagen opened up the scoring in the second quarter, but the Otters rallied for four-straight goals over a 2:24 stretch to take a 7-6 lead. The Matadors would regroup and even the match with 3:51 left in the quarter, as Telek earned a five-meter penalty shot and connected. Abby Allan gave CSUMB the lead right back on a power play, but CSUN owned the final two minutes of the half. Telek tied the game up with 1:55 remaining and Sandhagen gave CSUN the lead, 9-8, with a buzzer beater.
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After a back-and-forth first half, CSUN took control in the third period. The Matadors held the Otters scoreless over the entire third period while CSUN received goals from Sandhagen and Sofia Martinez along with three goals from Telek for a 14-8 lead.
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In the fourth period, CSUN put the game away early with Mevlin hitting another off a power play. Martinez followed with her own tally on a 6-on-5 advantage for a 16-8 lead. In net, Staine racked up 10 saves in the second half with just one goal allowed. In the final moments, Telek capped off her brilliant match with her ninth tally.
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AZUSA PACIFIC GAME
The Matadors kept up their hot shooting with four unanswered goals over the first three minutes of the match against Azusa Pacific. Telek scored three of those goals while Anna Pal followed with a five-meter penalty to give CSUN an early cushion. Kaelene De Bie gave the Cougars their lone tally of the first period, as Telek and Tatum Scarry followed with CSUN goals for a 6-1 lead through eight minutes.
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The second quarter would be a back-and-forth one with each side netting four goals apiece. Nicole Bacoyanis netted her first goal of the season while Martinez, Telek and Cornejo each registered goals of their own. Jessie Nelson notched two of the Cougar four goals in the quarter, but CSUN took a 10-5 lead into halftime.
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In the opening minute of the third quarter, the Matadors again scored early with Melvin striking the net. Pal and newcomer Lucie Lapuz each hit the net in the period while Melvin registered another with 2:36 left to play. CSUN outscored Azusa Pacific 4-2 in the quarter and extended its lead further to 14-7 through 24 minutes.
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Neither side broke through in the fourth quarter for two-plus minutes until Melvin scored her third goal of the match with 5:17 remaining. Azusa Pacific would go on a 3-0 run to pull to within 15-10, but Valeria Martinez added another CSUN tally for insurance with 2:55 left. Eyvelyn Prado closed the scoring for the afternoon as CSUN prevailed 16-11.
NOTES OF THE GAMES
ACCORDING TO COACH MATT WARSHAW
"Opening day is always a special one. We weathered the storm, and once we settled in, we held Monterey Bay to one goal in the second half. Some nerves and adrenaline showed up, but overall a good team win and a nice start to a long season.
"Jumping out to the early lead was nice to see and making some adjustments really allowed us to control the pace for the remainder of the game against Azusa Pacific. We're off to a good start, but we have a lot of work to do."
UP NEXT
CSUN travels to the University of Indiana to compete at the Indiana Classic from Jan. 25-26. On day one of the invite, CSUN takes on host Indiana at 6:30 a.m. PT and Salem at 2 p.m. PT.
#GoMatadors
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CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY GAME
CSUN got off to a quick start, scoring on a power play when Telek hit the net in the opening seconds before Melvin followed with a goal of her own for a 2-0 lead. The Otters cut the lead in half, but Telek completed a hat trick soon after with two consecutive goals. Cal State Monterey Bay pulled to within 4-3 near the 90-second mark before Kate Cornejo closed the stanza with a goal for a CSUN 5-3 lead through eight minutes.
Â
Helena Sandhagen opened up the scoring in the second quarter, but the Otters rallied for four-straight goals over a 2:24 stretch to take a 7-6 lead. The Matadors would regroup and even the match with 3:51 left in the quarter, as Telek earned a five-meter penalty shot and connected. Abby Allan gave CSUMB the lead right back on a power play, but CSUN owned the final two minutes of the half. Telek tied the game up with 1:55 remaining and Sandhagen gave CSUN the lead, 9-8, with a buzzer beater.
Â
After a back-and-forth first half, CSUN took control in the third period. The Matadors held the Otters scoreless over the entire third period while CSUN received goals from Sandhagen and Sofia Martinez along with three goals from Telek for a 14-8 lead.
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In the fourth period, CSUN put the game away early with Mevlin hitting another off a power play. Martinez followed with her own tally on a 6-on-5 advantage for a 16-8 lead. In net, Staine racked up 10 saves in the second half with just one goal allowed. In the final moments, Telek capped off her brilliant match with her ninth tally.
Â
AZUSA PACIFIC GAME
The Matadors kept up their hot shooting with four unanswered goals over the first three minutes of the match against Azusa Pacific. Telek scored three of those goals while Anna Pal followed with a five-meter penalty to give CSUN an early cushion. Kaelene De Bie gave the Cougars their lone tally of the first period, as Telek and Tatum Scarry followed with CSUN goals for a 6-1 lead through eight minutes.
Â
The second quarter would be a back-and-forth one with each side netting four goals apiece. Nicole Bacoyanis netted her first goal of the season while Martinez, Telek and Cornejo each registered goals of their own. Jessie Nelson notched two of the Cougar four goals in the quarter, but CSUN took a 10-5 lead into halftime.
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In the opening minute of the third quarter, the Matadors again scored early with Melvin striking the net. Pal and newcomer Lucie Lapuz each hit the net in the period while Melvin registered another with 2:36 left to play. CSUN outscored Azusa Pacific 4-2 in the quarter and extended its lead further to 14-7 through 24 minutes.
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Neither side broke through in the fourth quarter for two-plus minutes until Melvin scored her third goal of the match with 5:17 remaining. Azusa Pacific would go on a 3-0 run to pull to within 15-10, but Valeria Martinez added another CSUN tally for insurance with 2:55 left. Eyvelyn Prado closed the scoring for the afternoon as CSUN prevailed 16-11.
NOTES OF THE GAMES
- CSUN begins the 2025 season at 2-0.Â
- Telek tied her own school record for goals in a match with nine against Cal State Monterey Bay. With 14 goals on the day, Telek has now scored 286 times in her CSUN career.
- Sandhagen and Sofia Martinez had three goals apiece while Pal and Cornejo had two each on the day.
- In the cage, Staine allowed 12 goals in her 48 minutes of action while Kianna Kellner started the opener versus CSUMB and had four saves with eight goals allowed in 16 minutes.
- The Matadors have now won three consecutive season openers.
ACCORDING TO COACH MATT WARSHAW
"Opening day is always a special one. We weathered the storm, and once we settled in, we held Monterey Bay to one goal in the second half. Some nerves and adrenaline showed up, but overall a good team win and a nice start to a long season.
"Jumping out to the early lead was nice to see and making some adjustments really allowed us to control the pace for the remainder of the game against Azusa Pacific. We're off to a good start, but we have a lot of work to do."
UP NEXT
CSUN travels to the University of Indiana to compete at the Indiana Classic from Jan. 25-26. On day one of the invite, CSUN takes on host Indiana at 6:30 a.m. PT and Salem at 2 p.m. PT.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
CSUMB
CSUN
Shots
31
33
Goals
9
17
Assists
8
9
Points
17
26
Exclusions
9
6
Steals
5
13
Sprints
2
2
1
Dorottya Telek
7:45
Kianna Melvin
7:09
Autumn Day
5:37
Dorottya Telek
4:40
Dorottya Telek
4:01
Autumn Day
2:59
Abby Delport
1:37
Kate Cornejo
0:50
2
Helena Sandhagen
6:36
Shea Tully
6:26
Meg Gostanian
5:25
Kaya Eaton
4:53
Autumn Day
4:02
Dorottya Telek
3:51
Abby Allan
3:30
Dorottya Telek
1:55
Helena Sandhagen
0:01
3
Helena Sandhagen
4:54
Dorottya Telek
4:44
Sofia Martinez
3:24
Dorottya Telek
2:35
Dorottya Telek
0:31
4
Kianna Melvin
7:36
Sofia Martinez
4:23
Kira Clark
2:25
Dorottya Telek
1:15
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
14
Goals
9
Assists
2
Points
11
Shots
5
Goals
2
Assists
0
Points
2
Shots
4
Goals
3
Assists
1
Points
4
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Water PoloA Conversation With Matt Warshaw
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