Box Score: CSUEB 18, Occidental 8
Box Score: CSUEB 12, Chapman 5

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay water polo team completed a perfect 5-0 road trip by sweeping Sunday's doubleheader to close out Cal Lutheran's Tina Finali Invitational. The Pioneers defeated Occidental 18-8 in the morning, then topped Chapman by a score of 12-5 this afternoon in the final game of the tournament. 

CSUEB has now won six straight games to improve to 9-5 for the season.

Freshman Auriel Bill continued to impress in her rookie season. She scored six goals in the first game Sunday and finished with 12 goals, 10 assists, nine steals, and seven drawn ejections on the road trip. 

The Pioneers and Tigers were in the pool early for an 8 a.m. start, and the scoring came fast and frequently. East Bay jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first three minutes on a pair of goals by Alicia Tully and one each by Bill and Olivia Mackell. But Occidental answered back with three quick goals against CSUEB goalkeeper Makenna Nation to tie the score.

The Pioneers rallied as Leilani Vazquez gave them the lead back less than a minute later, and Gabriella Garcia scored on the following possession to make it 6-4. Bill scored again before the end of the first, and she netted the first two goals of the second quarter. East Bay looked like it might be pulling away with an 11-5 lead and three minutes left in the half, but once again Occidental didn't roll over. They scored three times in the final three minutes of the period to make the score 11-8.

CSUEB's defense controlled the game after halftime. Nikki Vaughan took over in goal and shut the Tigers out in the third quarter as the Pioneer offense tallied five more goals. Nation came back in for the fourth and held Occidental off the scoreboard for the final eight minutes to earn the 10-goal victory. 

Bill accounted for half of East Bay's points with six goals and three assists. Vazquez notched a hat trick, while Tully and Rocio Fesemback found the back of the cage twice each. Nation finished with five saves and three assists.

There was no letdown in the afternoon following the team's highest scoring output of the season. They picked up where they left off in the first quarter against Chapman. The Pioneers hung five goals on the scoreboard, including two by Katelyn Clark.

The action slowed down in the second period, but Vaughan and the East Bay defense were effective in limiting Chapman's opportunities. Gina Sorenson found the back of the cage with 1:44 left in the quarter to send the Pioneers into halftime with a 7-3 advantage.

Vaughan allowed just one goal each in the second and third periods and tallied six total saves before handing the duties over to Nation. The sophomore kept the trend going, giving up just one goal in the fourth with three saves. Garcia and Fesembeck both notched their second goals of the game in the third quarter, and Brooke Hodgkinson got on the scoresheet with a buzzer beater at the end of the period as the Pioneers pulled away.

Nicole Williams led the team with two assists in the victory over Chapman. The Pioneers are now 11-1 in the Cal Lutheran tournament over the last three seasons. 

After taking next week off from competition, CSUEB returns home on Mar. 11 to host Santa Clara University at Pioneer Pool.