Score Sheet (PDF)

HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay water polo team jumped out to a 5-0 first quarter lead over Fresno Pacific on Saturday and cruised to a 16-5 victory on a gorgeous afternoon at Pioneer Pool. 

The Pioneers scored the first eight goals of the game to pull away early in what ended up being their highest-scoring contest of the 2016 season thus far.

Sabrina Hatzer, fresh off setting the program's single-game record for goals with eight the previous day at Sonoma State, got things started for East Bay against FPU. She scored twice in the first three minutes of play to give the Pioneers a quick advantage.

The rest of the squad got in on the fun in the latter half of the first quarter, as Taylor Cross, Olivia Mackell, and Amy Chinn all found the back of the cage. Goalkeeper Nikki Vaughan assisted on three of CSUEB's five goals in the opening period, as the home team excelled in transition.

Nayiri Kechichian opened the scoring in the second quarter with a pair of well-placed shots to make it 7-0. Tori Dettloff then scored the first of her game-high four goals midway through the period. Fresno Pacific finally got on the board with 2:37 remaining in the half, but the Pioneers nonetheless took a commanding 8-1 lead into the break.

Jenn Lightbody got in the score sheet with a goal on the first possession of the third quarter, then Mackell notched her second goal of the day in a 6-on-5 situation to get the Pioneers into double figures. Dettloff scored twice more before the end of the third, and East Bay went into the fourth quarter with a 12-3 lead.

After the Sunbirds scored twice in the first minute of the final period, the Pioneers finished strong. Hatzer converted a power play goal with 6:49 left, then Dettloff scored her fourth goal two minutes later. Katelyn Clark made it 15-5 with a 6-on-5 goal, and then Kallie McHugh picked up her first career goal in the final minute to put a stamp on the day for East Bay.

Casey Rushforth tallied assists to lead to the team, and Dettloff paced the squad with five steals on the day.

Vaughan played the first three quarters in the cage, totaling eight saves and three assists. Miranda Diehm saw her first action of the season in the fourth quarter, posting four saves and a steal.

Next weekend, the Pioneers travel south to compete in four games at the Cal Lutheran Invitational in Thousand Oaks, Calif. East Bay will take on Siena, Pomona-Pitzer, Villanova, and Chapman over the course of two days on Feb. 27 and 28.