Score sheet: CSUEB 15, Siena 3
Score sheet: CSUEB 7, Pomona-Pitzer 6

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay water polo team won both its games on Saturday at the 2016 Tina Finali Invitational, hosted by Cal Lutheran. The Pioneers pulled away from Siena in the morning by a final score of 15-3, then pulled out a narrow 7-6 win over Pomona-Pitzer in the afternoon.

CSUEB has now won four straight, improving its record to 7-6 for the season. The Pioneers have two games remaining at the Cal Lutheran tournament on Sunday when they take on Villanova and Chapman.

East Bay got the morning off to a hot start, jumping out to a big first-quarter lead over Siena. Amy Chinn scored the first goal of the game for the Pioneers, then Taylor Cross found the back of the cage the next time down the pool. Sabrina Hartzer and Casey Rushforth got in on the fun to make it 4-0, then Cross notched her second goal if the period, and Rosio Fesemback closed out the period with a last-second goal to give CSUEB a commanding 6-0 lead.

The second quarter was more of the same, as the Pioneers scored six more unanswered goals. Brandi Carroll, Tori Dettloff, Nayiri Kechichian, and Cheyenne Pena all got in the score sheet, while Fesembeck picked up the first-half hat trick with two more goals in the quarter. East Bay went into halftime pitching a shutout with a 12-0 advantage. 

Kechichian added a goal in the third, and then Olivia Mackell and Brooke Hodgkinson both scored in the fourth as the Pioneers cruised to a 15-3 win to open the tournament. 

The afternoon contest was a totally different story, however. The Pioneers were back in the pool at 2 p.m. and engaged in a tight battle with Pomona-Pitzer. Neither team ever led by more than one goal in a match that was back-and-forth throughout. 

Cross opened the scoring with a goal at 5:15, and then the Pioneers and Sagehens traded goals the rest of the period. Hatzer scored with 1:04 remaining in the quarter, giving East Bay a 3-2 lead after the first. 

A power play goal by Pomona evened the score back up at 3-3 to start the second. Hatzer answered back with a goal, but Pomona's Morgan McCracken notched her second score of the quarter to send the squads to halftime tied 4-4. 

Cross gave the Pioneers the lead back with 2:50 left in the third quarter, but Dettloff was kicked out on the next possession, and the Sagehens converted the 6-on-5 situation to tie the score yet again. Pomona then scored on its next possession to take the lead for the first time, but the Pioneers drew an exclusions, and Cross scored her third goal of the afternoon with 24 seconds left in the quarter to make it 6-6. 

CSUEB's first possession of the fourth resulted in a goal by Nicole Williams, giving them a 7-6 lead. The Pioneers locked down defensively over the final seven minutes and made that score hold up. The Sagehens drew three East Bay ejections in the period, but couldn't score the equalizer as the Pioneers hung on for the 7-6 win.