Saturday, March 1
Claremont, Calif.
11:30 a.m.
California State University at Northridge
13-4
18
vs
7
Redlands
1-10
1
2
3
4
F
CSUN
4
5
4
5
18
Redlands
1
1
4
1
7
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Finishes 4-0 at Convergence Tournament
3/1/2025 9:23:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
CLAREMONT, Calif.---CSUN Water Polo wrapped up the Convergence Tournament with two more wins on Saturday inside Axelrood Aquatics Center on the campus of Claremont Mudd-Scripps (CMS). The Matadors defeated Redlands 18-7 in the morning match before holding off host CMS 14-11 to cap a 4-0 stay at the invite. A total of 14 different Matadors scored goals on the day with Leah Huisar scoring five against Redlands and Kianna Melvin registering five versus CMS.
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REDLANDS GAME
The Matadors jumped out to a first-quarter lead and never looked back versus Redlands. Alexis Smith gave CSUN the lead 28 seconds into match before Emma Parker squared the game two minutes later. The final three-plus minutes of the first quarter though would belong to the Matadors as Kate Cornjeo hit back-to-back goals and Huisar capped off the quarter with a late score for a 4-1 lead. Aside from an early goal from the Redlands' Kennedy Mobley in the second quarter, CSUN dominated the period. Abigel Kiss found the back of the net followed by Mackenzie Wood and Nicole Bacoyanis to stretch the lead further. Huisar completed the hat trick in the final minute of the first half, giving the Matadors a 9-2 edge at intermission.
The teams combined to score eight goals in an even 4-4 third quarter. CSUN though would never see its lead shrink lower than six. After an early goal from Wood, Jessica Matkovich netted two goals while Huisar recorded her fourth tally of the match with 48 seconds left. CSUN would take a 13-6 lead to the fourth period where it posted five more tallies to put the game out of reach. Dorottya Telek opened up the scoring with two goals to add to her season tally then Huisar hit her fifth goal of the day. Late in the period, Smith completed her own hat trick to give CSUN 18 goals in the contest and seal the win.
CMS GAME
In a tightly contested match, CSUN struck first with Sandhagen hitting the back of the net at the 5:34 mark of the first quarter. CMS responded with back-to-back goals from Valerie Wraith and Tatum Dwyer, but Melvin squared the game at 2-2 with a late first-quarter goal. A Sandhagen goal opened the second quarter before Grace Clark scored on a five-meter penalty for a 3-3 tie. The Matadors regained the lead at the 5:22 mark of the quarter via Melvin then Pal scored moments later to extend to a 5-3 advantage. The teams traded goals with Melvin scoring again at the 1:55 mark, but Isabel Del Villar picked up a tally on a power play to trim CSUN's lead to 6-5 at halftime.
CSUN had its biggest scoring quarter in the third with five total tallies. Pal dented the net with five-meter penalty goal before Sandhagen completed the hat trick near the five-minute mark for an 8-5 lead. CMS soon cut the deficit to two, but the Matadors responded with goals from Tatum Scarry and Valeria Martinez to push the lead to a four-goal advantage. The Athenas though scored two of the last three goals in the final 1:16, pulling to within 11-8 heading to the fourth quarter. Despite three goals from CMS in the final period, CSUN never led by less then two goals the rest of the way. Melvin scored her fourth and fifth goal of the match in the final stanza while Sofia Martinez picked up a goal on a power play to help CSUN secure the victory.
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH MATT WARSHAW
"Fourth game of the weekend was a physical one, our team showed up to the battle though. We weathered the storm in the first half and we were able to create more and more opportunities in the second half. These physical games are excellent preparation before the gauntlet known as the Big West."
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UP NEXT
CSUN opens its home schedule on Sunday morning against No. 23 Villanova at Matador Pool. Start time is set for 11 a.m.
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#GoMatadors
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REDLANDS GAME
The Matadors jumped out to a first-quarter lead and never looked back versus Redlands. Alexis Smith gave CSUN the lead 28 seconds into match before Emma Parker squared the game two minutes later. The final three-plus minutes of the first quarter though would belong to the Matadors as Kate Cornjeo hit back-to-back goals and Huisar capped off the quarter with a late score for a 4-1 lead. Aside from an early goal from the Redlands' Kennedy Mobley in the second quarter, CSUN dominated the period. Abigel Kiss found the back of the net followed by Mackenzie Wood and Nicole Bacoyanis to stretch the lead further. Huisar completed the hat trick in the final minute of the first half, giving the Matadors a 9-2 edge at intermission.
The teams combined to score eight goals in an even 4-4 third quarter. CSUN though would never see its lead shrink lower than six. After an early goal from Wood, Jessica Matkovich netted two goals while Huisar recorded her fourth tally of the match with 48 seconds left. CSUN would take a 13-6 lead to the fourth period where it posted five more tallies to put the game out of reach. Dorottya Telek opened up the scoring with two goals to add to her season tally then Huisar hit her fifth goal of the day. Late in the period, Smith completed her own hat trick to give CSUN 18 goals in the contest and seal the win.
CMS GAME
In a tightly contested match, CSUN struck first with Sandhagen hitting the back of the net at the 5:34 mark of the first quarter. CMS responded with back-to-back goals from Valerie Wraith and Tatum Dwyer, but Melvin squared the game at 2-2 with a late first-quarter goal. A Sandhagen goal opened the second quarter before Grace Clark scored on a five-meter penalty for a 3-3 tie. The Matadors regained the lead at the 5:22 mark of the quarter via Melvin then Pal scored moments later to extend to a 5-3 advantage. The teams traded goals with Melvin scoring again at the 1:55 mark, but Isabel Del Villar picked up a tally on a power play to trim CSUN's lead to 6-5 at halftime.
CSUN had its biggest scoring quarter in the third with five total tallies. Pal dented the net with five-meter penalty goal before Sandhagen completed the hat trick near the five-minute mark for an 8-5 lead. CMS soon cut the deficit to two, but the Matadors responded with goals from Tatum Scarry and Valeria Martinez to push the lead to a four-goal advantage. The Athenas though scored two of the last three goals in the final 1:16, pulling to within 11-8 heading to the fourth quarter. Despite three goals from CMS in the final period, CSUN never led by less then two goals the rest of the way. Melvin scored her fourth and fifth goal of the match in the final stanza while Sofia Martinez picked up a goal on a power play to help CSUN secure the victory.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN improves to 14-4 overall after the two wins.
- In the cage, Marin Byars totaled six saves in 16 minutes of action versus Redlands while she added four more saves in the win over CMS.
- KIana Kellner finished the second half in goal against Redlands, totaling two saves.
- Smith and Sandhagen each recorded hat tricks on Saturday.
- With her two goals on Saturday, Telek has now scored 75 times this season.
ACCORDING TO COACH MATT WARSHAW
"Fourth game of the weekend was a physical one, our team showed up to the battle though. We weathered the storm in the first half and we were able to create more and more opportunities in the second half. These physical games are excellent preparation before the gauntlet known as the Big West."
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UP NEXT
CSUN opens its home schedule on Sunday morning against No. 23 Villanova at Matador Pool. Start time is set for 11 a.m.
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#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
CSUN
UR
Shots
28
22
Goals
18
7
Assists
15
0
Points
33
7
Exclusions
8
6
Steals
7
1
Sprints
2
1
1
Alexis Smith
7:32
Emma Parker
5:28
Kate Cornejo
3:37
Kate Cornejo
2:54
Leah Huisar
0:29
2
Kennedy Mobley
7:51
Abigel Kiss
7:34
Mackenzie Wood
6:02
Nicole Bacoyanis
3:22
Leah Huisar
1:42
Leah Huisar
0:11
3
Emma Parker
5:35
Mackenzie Wood
4:55
Alyssa Sorrell
3:54
Jessica Matkovich
3:39
Emma Parker
2:45
Jessica Matkovich
1:45
Leah Huisar
0:48
Lucia Notaro
0:20
4
Dorottya Telek
7:21
Dorottya Telek
6:39
Leah Huisar
4:39
Alexis Smith
4:05
Alyssa Sorrell
3:40
Alexis Smith
1:37
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
6
Goals
5
Assists
1
Points
6
Shots
5
Goals
3
Assists
1
Points
4
Shots
4
Goals
2
Assists
2
Points
4
Shots
4
Goals
2
Assists
1
Points
3
Players Mentioned
Attacker
/ Women's Water Polo
Goalkeeper
/ Women's Water PoloUtility
/ Women's Water Polo
Center
/ Women's Water Polo
Utility
/ Women's Water Polo
Utility
/ Women's Water PoloUtility
/ Women's Water Polo
Utility
/ Women's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Women's Water PoloAttacker
/ Women's Water Polo
Center
/ Women's Water PoloAttacker
/ Women's Water PoloA Conversation With Matt Warshaw
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