Scoresheet

HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay water polo team needed four goals in the third quarter to hold off Cal State Monterey Bay in a close 10-9 victory on Saturday at Pioneer Pool. The Pioneers (7-7) out-scored the Otters 4-2 in the third quarter to make up for a slow start that saw Monterey Bay lead by as many as two goals in the first half. The win marked East Bay's third straight win against a WWPA opponent, improving to 5-3 against conference teams this season.

The Otters opened scoring just over 30 seconds into the game, getting a goal from Alex Tyrell to start the game off with a 1-0 lead. After a Monterey Bay miss on a penalty shot, Carly Clark got the Pioneers on the board with a goal with 6:10 left in the first period. Nikki Smart answered for the Otters, scoring her first of two goals in the quarter to put them up 2-1 at the 5:56 mark. Though Erica Crain blasted a shot past Otter goalie Paige Robinson with three minutes left, Cal Sate Monterey Bay would hold East Bay without a goal for the remainder of the quarter. Meanwhile on the other end, the Otters drew a second penalty and converted to regain a one-goal lead before finishing the period with Smart's second goal in the final 20 seconds to take a 4-2 lead into the first break.

East Bay pulled back within one to open the second quarter, getting a goal from Sara Hudyn in the first minute to cut the lead to 4-3. The Otters again responded, getting a score from Katie Sowul to regain the 5-3 advantage. After a pair of missed 6-on-5 opportunities for Monterey Bay, East Bay cut the lead to one with a goal from Clark just before the half.

Trailing 5-4 going into the third quarter, the Pioneers made it two straight to open the second half thanks to a goal from Crain to tie things up at five. East Bay followed with its first 6-on-5 goal of the game thanks to Hudyn, taking its first lead of the game, 6-5, with 6:14 to play in the third period. Though the Otters tied the game at six on a Sowul goal with 3:58 remaining in the third, East Bay answered right back with a goal from Crain 17 seconds later to take a 7-6 lead. Tyrell tied the game back up with the third goal in less than a minute but Crain put away her third goal of the quarter on a cross-pool pass from Kate McAfee in the final minute of the period to give the Pioneers an 8-7 lead.

The Otters tied the game 8-8 in a 6-on-4 situation two minutes into the fourth quarter. East Bay, however, added another 6-on-5 goal from Hudyn with 4:14 to play to take its final lead of the game, 9-8. Sophie Armstrong followed with a shot that got past Robinson on the nearside post after getting a great pass from Hudyn to put the Pioneers up 10-8 and mark the eventual game winner. Though Sowul scored in the final minute to cut the lead to 10-9, the Pioneers managed to hold them off, including stopping a 6-on-5 opportunity for the Otters in the final three minutes to pick up the win.

Crain led the Pioneers, notching four goals on the day, including three in the crucial third period. Hudyn added three goals for East Bay, while Clark notched a pair. Though Armstrong tallied just one score, it proved to be the critical game winner for East Bay. Goalie and reigning WWPA Co-Player of the Week Jayme Pekarske posted 10 saves, including three in the third quarter to help the Pioneers notch their fifth WWPA win of the year.

Sowul paced the Otters with four goals, while Tyrell added three. Robinson finished the game with 10 stops, including three to keep Monterey Bay in the game in the fourth quarter.

Cal State East Bay will return to action next weekend when it plays a pair of games against Fresno Pacific. The Pioneers will host the Sunbirds on Mar. 16 at 1 p.m. before traveling to Fresno to meet FPU again on Mar. 17 at 1 p.m.