Pioneers East Past Fresno Pacific in 19-4 Win
- February 20, 2010
Box score
HAYWARD, Calif. - The 19th-ranked ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ women's water polo team posted a decisive 19-4 victory over Fresno Pacific on Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Pool. The Pioneers (6-4) outscored the Sunbirds 11-1 in the first half, continuing on to their fifth straight victory.
East Bay got off to a fast start, scoring seven unanswered goals in the first quarter, with the first coming from junior two meter Liz Warren just 19 seconds into the match. The Pioneers scored again less than two minutes later when freshman utility Claire Pierce put away her first of two in the quarter. At the 5:07 mark, East Bay junior utility Whitney Bell converted on a penalty shot to give the Pioneers a 3-0 lead.
Pierce put CSUEB up 4-0 before junior driver Danielle Comforti scored back-to-back goals, giving the Pioneers a six-goal lead with 2:36 left in the quarter. Freshman Chelsie Bryan closed out the frame with a goal with just five seconds remaining to give East Bay a 7-0 lead.
The Pioneers added another pair of goals to start the second before Fresno Pacific got on the board midway through the quarter. At the 4:05 mark, Katie Rayner got past senior goalie Lauren Merrill to cut the East Bay lead to 9-1. CSUEB responded with another pair of goals from senior Lauren Griffin and Warren, finishing the half with an 11-1 advantage.
East Bay continued to dominate following the half, scoring twice in the first two minutes on goals from Brianna Finney and Comforti. Leading 13-1, the Pioneers opened their largest lead of the game thanks to Bryan's second score of the day at the 4:28 mark. The Sunbirds found their second goal of the game less than a minute later, closing the gap to 14-2 before Bell added another for the Pioneers to regain the 13-goal advantage. Fresno Pacific capped the half with their third goal of the match from Borbala Toth with 1:16 remaining sending East Bay into the fourth quarter with a 15-3 advantage.
The fourth quarter opened with two straight goals from Warren after the Pioneers drew back-to-back exclusions to start the period. Bryan added another for East Bay a minute later to give the Pioneers an 18-3 lead with less than four minutes remaining. Fresno Pacific notched one more from Deborah Wall before the Pioneers closed out the scoring with a goal from junior Tristan Kennedy in the final minute.
Warren paced East Bay with four goals on the day, while Comforti and Bryan each added three. Kennedy, Finney and Bell contributed two goals apiece, and Griffin also got in on the scoring with one goal. Merrill notched five saves in two quarters while junior Kendra Mason stopped one shot in one inning and freshman Emily Hucal notched two in the final frame.
The Pioneers return to action tomorrow, traveling to Rohnert Park for the final day of the Seawolf Splash. East Bay will take on Sonoma State at 10 a.m. before closing out the day against No. 15 UC Davis.