#17 Cal State Northridge Handles La Verne, 17-6; Brown, 15-5

Bakersfield, Calif. – It was a good day for Cal State Northridge water polo.

Just like the sunny weather at the Roadrunner Invitational at Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday, the Matadors shined on both offense and defense in winning their fourth straight game, a 17-6 decision over La Verne.

Melissa Doll and Jenny Jamison each scored four goals to help propel the Matadors over the Leopards. Lindsy Nelson added a hat trick with three goals.

Cal State Northridge held a slim 5-3 lead at halftime; then exploded for eight goals in the third period to take a sizable 13-5 lead.

The victory raised CSUN's season record to 14-14. La Verne fell to 7-12.

Earlier today, Brown University, an Ivy League member, traveled more than 3,000 miles from Providence, Rhode Island, to test their strength against nationally-ranked Cal State Northridge in a non-league contest on a beautiful, sunny Saturday morning at the Roadrunner Invitational at Cal State Bakersfield.

East (Brown) met West (CSUN). Chalk up a victory for the West as the 17^th-ranked Matadors proved to be the far superior team with a highly convincing 15-5 victory over the Bears.

Scoring depth again prevailed for the Matadors. Seven CSUN players scored at least one goal. Sophomore Jenny Jamison proved to be the scoring star for Cal State Northridge. Jamison tallied a career-high five goals, besting her previous mark of four goals earlier this year against Cal State Monterey Bay and Bucknell. Kelcie Ferreira added three goals to help propel the Matador offensive arsenal.

Strong defense and goaltending also prevailed in the win. Cal State Northridge jumped to a 3-1 first period lead, and the Matador defense held Brown scoreless in the second period while exploding for seven goals. That gave Cal State Northridge a hefty 10-1 halftime lead.

Senior Dana Harvey played the first half in the net for Cal State Northridge and tallied eight saves. That gives Harvey 187 saves this year, tenth-best for a single season in school history. Freshman Kiernan Davis played the second half and responded with five saves.

Next Saturday (3/31/12), Cal State Northridge opens the Big West Conference season against sixth-ranked UC Irvine. Game time is Noon at CSUN's Campus Pool.