LA JOLLA, Calif. ? For a second consecutive day, CSUB's women's water polo team split a pair of matches, falling 8-4 to Indiana before storming back to earn an 8-7 win over fellow Western Water Polo Association member Santa Clara at the UCSD Triton Invitational Sunday.
“Overall this weekend we improved in a lot of areas,” said Roadrunner head coach Jason Gall. “We still have a long way to go, but we've started to come together and our team defense has really improved.”
The ?Runners put that defense to the test against Santa Clara, shutting out the Broncos for the final 13:58 of the match to claim the 8-7 win. The two teams battled back-and-forth through the first three quarters of the contest with CSUB holding the largest lead, 3-1 early on.
Santa Clara tied the game for a final time at the 5:58 mark of the third quarter, but from there on, the ?Runner defense held strong, not allowing another score. Junior Amanda Ortiz, who finished with five goals, scored the game-winner with 4:53 remaining to give CSUB the victory.
Goalkeepers C.J. Longeuay and Veronica Campbell combined for 16 blocks in the game while Becky Seelos contributed two goals and Jessica Manke chipped in one.
“This was a better game (than the morning match) and we won by shutting (Santa Clara) out in the last 14 minutes, which is a good sign,” said Gall.
Against Indiana, the ?Runners came out flat, allowing the Hoosiers to take an early 4-1 lead. A strong second period led to a 5-4 deficit at halftime, but CSUB would find no offense in the second half as Indiana scored three unanswered goals to claim the win.
Seelos had a pair of goals and Ortiz tallied one, but both players earned a third ejection during the third period, forcing the ?Runners to play the final period without the bulk of its offense.
Longeuay had 10 blocks in the match, while Campbell added six.
CSUB returns to Bakersfield next weekend, hosting the Roadrunner Invitational on Feb. 16-17 at the Hillman Aquatics Center.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| Indiana | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
No. 20 CSU Bakersfield
| 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Goals:
CSUB-Amanda Ortiz (1), Becky Seelos (2), Petra Koudelkova (1)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
No. 20 CSU Bakersfield
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
Santa Clara
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7
|
Goals:
CSUB-Amanda Ortiz (5), Jessica Manke (1), Becky Seelos (2)
