THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Cal State East Bay women's water polo will head to Southern California to take part in the Cal Lutheran Invitational from March 1-2. The Pioneers will play four games over two days including a pair of top-20 nationally ranked opponents.

Website: Cal Lutheran Invite

Cal State East Bay will face No. 7 ranked Cal State Northridge and Azusa Pacific on Saturday at Oaks Christian High School in nearby Westlake Village. The Pioneers will then face No. 12 ranked Long Beach State and Division III squad Occidental on Sunday at the Samuelson Aquatic Center to close out the weekend.

"We have a challenging schedule but look forward to learning and growing as a team from the experience," said East Bay Head Coach Lisa Cooper.

Last season Cal State East Bay went 4-0 at the event with wins over three Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) teams and Azusa Pacific. The Pioneers defeated APU 12-10 with Sara Hudyn scoring four goals to lead all players. Allison Zell scored twice, and goalkeeper Marrina Nation made six saves in three quarters of action.

Hudyn enters this weekend's play leading the squad with 27 goals on the season and 199 for her career. Her next score will make her the third player in program history with 200 goals, joining former teammates Claire Pierce (359) and Liz Warren (241).

Most recently the Pioneers are coming of their third win of the season. Cal State East Bay earned a 9-5 road victory over Fresno Pacific providing positive momentum heading into a challenging set of games.

"Against (FPU) last weekend we had five different people score goals which was great to see. Nation had a very solid game in the cage, so hopefully we can build off those performances," praised Cooper.

For more information on upcoming contests, visit the Cal State East Bay women's water polo schedule page.