CSUN Hosts Invite Friday in 2026 Home Opener

Friday, February 6

Northridge, Calif.

4:30 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

Austin College

Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald

CSUN Hosts Invite Friday in 2026 Home Opener

2/5/2026 9:11:00 AM | Women's Water Polo

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---No. 25 CSUN Water Polo (3-1) opens its home schedule this Friday with the first of two mini invites this season. The Matadors host Austin College and Concordia in a three-team invite at Matador Pool with action getting underway at 2:30 p.m. with Austin taking on Concordia. CSUN takes on Austin College at 4:30 p.m. before the Matadors take on Concordia at 6:30 p.m. Live stats will be provided for all three contests.

The Matadors wrap up the weekend of action on Saturday at the Och Tamale Invite, hosted by Redlands University. CSUN is slated to face Occidental College at 9:30 a.m. and La Verne at 2 p.m. Coverage of both matches will be broadcast on FloCollege.

ABOUT LAST WEEK
The Matadors knocked off host Cal Lutheran 13-5 in the 2026 season opener last Friday behind a big third quarter, featuring seven CSUN goals. Kianna Melvin and Sophia Cooper each scored three goals apiece in the match while goalkeeper Erika Staine had five saves in the win. Friday wrapped up with a 20-12 victory over Fresno Pacific in a neutral site game as eight different Matadors scored goals. Freshman Mira Dravucz had a team-high six goals versus FPU with Sofia Martinez chipping in with five.

CSUN would taste defeat for the first time this season, falling at No. 23 California Baptist, 17-14, last Saturday. The Matadors trailed for most of the day before rallying to tie the match in the fourth quarter at 13-13, but the Lancers scored four of the final five goals to prevail. Dravucz once again led the way with five tallies against CBU. Later in the day, CSUN bounced back with a 12-10 triumph over Biola to wrap the weekend, as nine Matadors hit the scoring column. Martinez recorded a hat trick against Biola while the combination of Kiana Kellner and Marin Byars combined for 10 saves in front of the cage.

QUITE THE DEBUT
A freshman from Budapest, Hungary, Mira Dravucz wasted little time making a name for herself in the Matadors' first weekend of the 2026 season. Dravucz was exceptional in the pool for CSUN in the team's first four matches, racking up a team-high 14 goals and 20 points. From the field, Dravucz shot a lethal 66.7 percent while she posted three multi-goal efforts, highlighted six goals and eight points in the victory over Fresno Pacific. She also accumulated three steals and six assists for the weekend.

LEADING THE WAY
Sophomore Sofia Martinez was among the top Matador scorers last weekend, totaling 11 goals with six assists and four steals over the four matches. Freshman Sophia Cooper would tally six assists to go with seven goals while fellow freshman Ashley Strickland (four goals, five assists) and Marjorie Krueger (five goals, three assists) were also key contributors.

In front of the cage, junior Erika Staine played two full matches in the pool last week, recording 16 total saves to go with a 11.00 goals-against-average. Sophomore Marin Byars posted an 8.00 GAA with 11 saves in 32 minutes.

IN THE RANKINGS
CSUN remained in the top-25 national rankings this week, sharing the No. 25 spot with Bucknell. The Matadors have been ranked in the top 25 for two of the first three weeks thus far in 2026 as the team received votes in week one of the poll.

ABOUT AUSTIN COLLEGE
The Kangaroos open up their season this weekend at CSUN. In 2025, Austin went 12-9 overall and 8-0 in the CWPA, winning the regular season championship. The team was picked seventh in this week's Division III national top 10. Series History: The Matadors are 2-0 against the Kangaroos in the all-time series, most recently earning a 16-4 win in the 2023 season.

ABOUT CONCORDIA
The Golden Eagles have gone 2-4 on the season, highlighted by a win over top-20 UC Santa Barbara by a 13-12 margin last Saturday. Anna Tyukasz tops the team with 12 goals and 14 points while goalkeeper Jaden Soto has six saves over a team-high 96 minutes in front of the cage. Series History: CSUN is 10-1 against Concordia all time after dropping its last meeting in 2024 by a 13-11 score.

ABOUT OCCIDENTAL
The Tigers are beginning their 2026 season this weekend as the team is ranked ninth in this week's Division III national top 10. Occidental is coming off a 9-15 overall record and 5-7 mark in the SCIAC last season. Hannah Lee is the team's top returning goal scorer with 18 registered last season. Series History: CSUN leads Occidental 11-2 in the all-time series with 11 consecutive victories. The teams last played in 2014 with the Matadors coming out on top 17-2.

ABOUT LA VERNE
The Leopards have gone 0-4 on the season, dropping recent games to VMI (11-10) and Azusa Pacific (15-2) last weekend. Anika Nichols, La Verne's top scorer, has six goals and eight points while goalkeeper Miranda Graham has posted 22 saves this season. Series History: CSUN holds a 5-1 edge in the all-time series with five consecutive victories. The Matadors and Leopards last played in 2023 with CSUN posting a 17-5 victory.

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