Game 1 box | Game 2 box

HAYWARD, Calif. - The Cal State East Bay water polo team kicked off the 2012 regular season with an 11-7 win over Sonoma State and a 21-9 victory over Azusa Pacific on Friday at Pioneer Pool. The Pioneers (2-0) picked up their first win over a conference opponent in game one and finished the day having converted more than half of their 6-on-5 opportunities. 

Senior Erica Crain led East Bay with 11 goals on the day, with three coming in player-advantage situations and another trio coming on penalty shots. Junior Claire Pierce added seven goals for East Bay, scoring six in the big win over the Cougars in game two. Sophomore Sara Hudyn also contributed, notching five goals, while senior Carly Clark posted four on the day. In goal, senior Jayme Pekarske handled the bulk of the work, making 17 saves, including 12 in game two. Both Marrina Nation and Olivia Roberts also got time in the win over Azusa Pacific, recording four and one save, respectively. 

Game one saw the Pioneers get off to a quick start, out-scoring the Seawolves 5-0 in the first quarter thanks to three goals from Crain. The Modesto native scored a pair on 6-on-5 opportunities and converted on a penalty shot to give East Bay an early lead. Though Sonoma State ended its scoring drought with 5:06 remaining in the second quarter, the Pioneers extended their lead to six with goals from Crain and Hudyn to take a 7-1 advantage into the half.

Coming out of the break, the Seawolves pulled back, out-scoring the Pioneers for the first time in the game. Although Kate McAfee posted her first goal as a Pioneer, Sonoma State closed the gap to just four goals, 8-4, by the end of the third quarter. Claire Pierce opened the fourth quarter scoring to put East Bay back up by five before the Seawolves countered to cut the lead to four, 9-5. The Pioneers answered with back-to-back goals to make it an 11-5, which would be enough despite two late goals from Sonoma State. 

Crain paced the Pioneers in game one, scoring five goals, while Clark, McAfee, Pierce, Hudyn and Sophie Armstrong each added a goal. East Bay converted on both of its penalty shots and scored on seven of its 11 6-on-5 chances in the game.

The evening game got off to a rocky start for Cal State East Bay, which opened scoring with a Pierce goal before falling behind 3-1. The Azusa Pacific lead was short-lived, however, as Crain and Pierce teamed up to score four straight goals and give the Pioneers a 5-3 lead at the end of the first quarter. 

The Pioneers continued to roll in the second period, putting together their highest-scoring quarter of the day with eight goals. Pierce added three goals to her total, while both Hudyn and Clark notched a pair each in the quarter. Hudyn benefited twice from some great passing by McAfee, who assisted on both of her goals in the quarter. After out-scoring the Cougars by seven in the second frame, East Bay took a 13-4 lead into halftime. 

The scoring continued for the Pioneers in the third quarter, as Crain notched another pair and both Armstrong and Meaghan Paschall added a goal apiece. Paschall also helped out Crain with an assist to put East Bay up 17-5 before a last-minute 6-on-5 goal from Azusa Pacific cut the lead to 17-6 going into the fourth quarter.

The final period saw the Cougars match their previous high with three goals, two of which came in the last three minutes of the quarter. Meanwhile, the Pioneers added another four goals, including two from Hudyn, to finish off the 12-goal victory.

Cal State East Bay will look to continue its success tomorrow when it heads to the Pacific Invite. The Pioneers will face off against the Division I host Tigers at 11:30 a.m. before meeting Wagner at 3 p.m. at the Kjeldsen Aquatics Complex in Stockton.