Saturday, April 29
Northridge, CA
11:00 a.m.
California State University at Northridge
5
vs
3
#17 UC Santa Barbara
Photo by: Tony Mastres
Matadors End Season with 5-3 Win Over UCSB
4/29/2017 12:56:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
BOX SCORE
NORTHRIDGE, CA---
No. 20 CSUN Water Polo (12-20) bounced back from a defeat yesterday in the Big West Tournament quarterfinals to post a 5-3 win over No. 17 UC Santa Barbara in a fifth-place match on Saturday morning at Schaal Aquatics Center. Junior attacker Madeleine Sanchez wrapped up an amazing season with 74 goals as she collected four of the team's five goals while Katelyn Fairchild netted her 48th goal of the season. Junior attacker Niki Van Vugt tied a career high with 14 saves to go along with two steals. The Matadors played with a lead for most of the day and held the Gauchos to a season-low three goals, ending their season on a winning note.Â
"This game was a great team effort from start to finish, holding a talented offensive team like UCSB to three goals only happens with great preparation and effort on the defensive end," said head coach Matt Warshaw. "Niki Van Vugt came up with some timely saves with Maddie Sanchez facilitating the offense. We were never trailing, after jumping out to an early lead, and it was a great way to cap off the season."
Fairchild kicked off the scoring early on in the first quarter with a goal on a power play. CSUN held the Gauchos off the scoreboard for the entire period and took a 1-0 lead into the second. Brenna Thomas brought UCSB even at 1-1 in the opening minute of the second period but Sanchez gave the Matadors the lead right back at the 4:49 mark of the half. After Jenna Solberg briefly squared the match at 2-2, the Matadors earned a five-meter penalty shot with 2:50 left to play. Sanchez nailed the shot and CSUN kept UCSB scoreless in the final minutes to take a 3-2 lead into intermission. Â
The low-scoring battled continued in the second half. The Gauchos tied the game after Kate Pipkin hit the back of the net but the Matadors answered back with a goal from Sanchez with 2:07 left on the clock. CSUN took a one-goal lead into the fourth and continued to frustrate the Gauchos on the offensive end. The Matadors earned another five-meter penalty shot, which Sanchez scored, that pushed the lead to 5-3. Behind a tremendous effort from Van Vugt, the Matadors shut out the Gauchos the rest of the way. In all, CSUN held UCSB scoreless for the final 13:40 of the match.Â
Continuing her dominant effort in the pool, Sanchez scored eight of the team's 12 goals at the Big West Tournament. Sanchez also posted a new career high in goals scored for a season, eclipsing the 73 she netted in 2016. Her 74 goals also are tied with Chari Christopher (2005) for the third-most goals scored in a season in team history.
In the all-time career scoring list, Sanchez is in sixth place with 175 goals and just two away from Christopher for fifth place on the list. With first place in sight, Sanchez would need 48 goals next season to become the all-time CSUN career scoring leader.Â
Van Vugt finished this season with 181 saves and moved into fifth place on the school's all-time career saves list with 392 for her career.Â
Saturday's season finale marked the final match for the Matadors' senior quartet of McKenzie Pollei, Emily Fuller, Alexis Elias and Jade Arner. Pollei registered a steal and two shot attempts while Fuller had an assist and Elias had a shot.Â
The Matadors finished the 2017 campaign with a 12-20 record. Facing a challenging schedule, the Matadors matched up with 21 Top 20 teams during the season as well as nine Top 10 squads. Looking ahead to next season, the Matadors will welcome back a veteran-laden roster featuring seniors Amy Yule, Shannon Hovanesian, Paula Abellan Garcia, Carly Wickman, Sanchez, Fairchild and Van Vugt as CSUN looks to again contend for a Big West crown.Â
UCSB - 0-2-1-0 = 3
CSUN - 1-2-1-1 = 5
UCSB goal scorers: Thomas, Pipkin, Solberg
CSUNÂ goal scoers: Sanchez 4 (74), Fairchild (48)
UCSB saves: Snyder 5
CSUN saves: Van Vugt 14 (181)
Â
NORTHRIDGE, CA---
No. 20 CSUN Water Polo (12-20) bounced back from a defeat yesterday in the Big West Tournament quarterfinals to post a 5-3 win over No. 17 UC Santa Barbara in a fifth-place match on Saturday morning at Schaal Aquatics Center. Junior attacker Madeleine Sanchez wrapped up an amazing season with 74 goals as she collected four of the team's five goals while Katelyn Fairchild netted her 48th goal of the season. Junior attacker Niki Van Vugt tied a career high with 14 saves to go along with two steals. The Matadors played with a lead for most of the day and held the Gauchos to a season-low three goals, ending their season on a winning note.Â
"This game was a great team effort from start to finish, holding a talented offensive team like UCSB to three goals only happens with great preparation and effort on the defensive end," said head coach Matt Warshaw. "Niki Van Vugt came up with some timely saves with Maddie Sanchez facilitating the offense. We were never trailing, after jumping out to an early lead, and it was a great way to cap off the season."
Fairchild kicked off the scoring early on in the first quarter with a goal on a power play. CSUN held the Gauchos off the scoreboard for the entire period and took a 1-0 lead into the second. Brenna Thomas brought UCSB even at 1-1 in the opening minute of the second period but Sanchez gave the Matadors the lead right back at the 4:49 mark of the half. After Jenna Solberg briefly squared the match at 2-2, the Matadors earned a five-meter penalty shot with 2:50 left to play. Sanchez nailed the shot and CSUN kept UCSB scoreless in the final minutes to take a 3-2 lead into intermission. Â
The low-scoring battled continued in the second half. The Gauchos tied the game after Kate Pipkin hit the back of the net but the Matadors answered back with a goal from Sanchez with 2:07 left on the clock. CSUN took a one-goal lead into the fourth and continued to frustrate the Gauchos on the offensive end. The Matadors earned another five-meter penalty shot, which Sanchez scored, that pushed the lead to 5-3. Behind a tremendous effort from Van Vugt, the Matadors shut out the Gauchos the rest of the way. In all, CSUN held UCSB scoreless for the final 13:40 of the match.Â
Continuing her dominant effort in the pool, Sanchez scored eight of the team's 12 goals at the Big West Tournament. Sanchez also posted a new career high in goals scored for a season, eclipsing the 73 she netted in 2016. Her 74 goals also are tied with Chari Christopher (2005) for the third-most goals scored in a season in team history.
In the all-time career scoring list, Sanchez is in sixth place with 175 goals and just two away from Christopher for fifth place on the list. With first place in sight, Sanchez would need 48 goals next season to become the all-time CSUN career scoring leader.Â
Van Vugt finished this season with 181 saves and moved into fifth place on the school's all-time career saves list with 392 for her career.Â
Saturday's season finale marked the final match for the Matadors' senior quartet of McKenzie Pollei, Emily Fuller, Alexis Elias and Jade Arner. Pollei registered a steal and two shot attempts while Fuller had an assist and Elias had a shot.Â
The Matadors finished the 2017 campaign with a 12-20 record. Facing a challenging schedule, the Matadors matched up with 21 Top 20 teams during the season as well as nine Top 10 squads. Looking ahead to next season, the Matadors will welcome back a veteran-laden roster featuring seniors Amy Yule, Shannon Hovanesian, Paula Abellan Garcia, Carly Wickman, Sanchez, Fairchild and Van Vugt as CSUN looks to again contend for a Big West crown.Â
UCSB - 0-2-1-0 = 3
CSUN - 1-2-1-1 = 5
UCSB goal scorers: Thomas, Pipkin, Solberg
CSUNÂ goal scoers: Sanchez 4 (74), Fairchild (48)
UCSB saves: Snyder 5
CSUN saves: Van Vugt 14 (181)
Â
Players Mentioned
Center
/ Women's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Women's Water Polo
Defender
/ Women's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Women's Water Polo
Defender
/ Women's Water Polo
Utility
/ Women's Water Polo
Utility
/ Women's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Women's Water Polo
Goalkeeper
/ Women's Water Polo
Defender
/ Women's Water Polo
A Conversation With Matt Warshaw
Friday, May 15
National Student-Athlete Day 2019 - McKenzie Beardsley
Friday, April 05
CSUN Water Polo Report
Friday, February 10
Meet the Matadors - 2017 Women's Water Polo
Wednesday, January 18