Saturday, Feb. 9
vs. #2 USC (0-0)
Canyonville Pool – La Jolla, Calif.
8:30 a.m.

UCSD Triton Invitational
Feb. 9-10
Tournament Homepage

HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay water polo team is heading south this weekend to compete in the Triton Invitational, hosting by UC San Diego. The Pioneers (1-3) will play two games Saturday and two games Sunday against a field that includes 10 of the top-20 teams in the country. East Bay already has some experience against nationally ranked opponents this year, but those games were just warm-ups for Saturday's tournament opener. The Pioneers will be in the pool at 8:30 a.m. to take on No. 2 USC, last year's national runner-up. Their second game of the day will be against either Cal State Northridge or No. 16 Hartwick, depending on how the bracket plays out.

WEEKLY RECAP
East Bay opened the season with a home doubleheader last Friday. It was a beautiful day at Pioneer Pool, but Sonoma State spoiled the mood a bit by beating the Pioneers 13-10. All-American Claire Pierce scored five goals in the opener, but it wasn't enough to prevent the team's first home loss in two years. The Pioneers got back on track later Friday evening, beating Azusa Pacific 11-7 as the sun set over the Bay. Junior Sara Hudyn was dominant at 2M, notching six goals in the win. She and Pierce each recorded two hat tricks on the season's first day.

The next morning, the Pioneers were right back in the pool for another doubleheader. They made the drive up to Stockton to compete in the one-day Pacific Invitational, which pitted East Bay against two top-20 opponents. The Pioneers opened the tournament with a heartbreaking loss, 8-7, to the host Pacific Tigers, ranked No. 17 in the nation. Pierce, Hudyn, and freshman Casey Rushforth scored two goals apiece for East Bay.

Their afternoon game was another tight contest, but No. 16 Hartwick edged out the Pioneers, 11-8. Hudyn scored in every quarter, notching five total goals, and Pierce added a hat trick with three. Goalie Marrina Nation had a season-high 15 saves, and the team drew 12 Hartwick ejections, but it wasn't quite enough. The Pioneers played well in both losses and showed good improvement throughout the weekend. They also expect to get Julia Charlesworth back from injury soon, which will provide another scoring threat.

LEADING THE PACK
It was an impressive start to the season for Hudyn, who had a remarkable weekend against some tough competition. After just four games, the junior is leading the WWPA in goals with 16. Hudyn is also second on the Pioneers with five steals.

Pierce is right behind her on the scoring list, ranking third in the conference with 13 goals. In addition, she leads the team and currently ranks fourth in the WWPA with eight steals (although every player she trails has played six games).

Junior Kate McAfee is tied for the conference lead with seven assists (and similarly, every player with whom she's tied has played at least six games). McAfee is joined on the assists list by Simonne Call (4), Allison Zell (4), and Pierce (3), who all rank in the WWPA's top-20. 

SCOUTING SOUTHERN CAL
USC hasn't played a game yet this season, with head coach Jovan Vuvic spending time with the U.S. National team. The Trojans nonetheless retained their No. 2 national ranking after finishing as NCAA runner-up to Stanford last season. They were 23-6 a year ago and are expected to contend for a national title again this year. The leading returners for the Trojans are senior Dominique Sardo and junior Kaleigh Gilchrist, each with 62 career goals. Both are team captains and both were All-Americans in 2012. USC also has a pair of Australians to match East Bay in Jayde Appel and Hannah Buckling. This will be the first meeting between the Pioneers and Trojans since East Bay joined the WWPA.