Box Scores:  CSUEB 13, CSUMB 8  |  APU 10, CSUEB 6

HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay water polo team began its doubleheader Saturday at Pioneer Pool on a high note, defeating rival Cal State Monterey Bay in the morning by a score of 13-8 in the designated Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) conference game between the two teams.

That win improves the Pioneers to 2-1 in WWPA action, putting them in strong position thus far for postseason tournament seeding. 

CSUEB was back in the pool for a late afternoon contest against Azusa Pacific, a rematch of a game two weeks ago in Thousand Oaks that APU won 12-9. The Cougars prevailed in this showdown as well, out-lasting the Pioneers in a tight game, 10-6. 

East Bay, which has received votes in the national top-25 coaches poll five straight weeks, now has an overall record of 7-7 in regular season play.

In the first game of the day against the Otters, the Pioneers grabbed control early. Briana Ruiz netted the match's first goal midway though the first period, and the CSUMB evened it two minutes later. With 1:12 left in the first Gabriela Garcia gave East Bay the lead back, then Ivanna Anderson scored to beat the first quarter buzzer to make it 3-1. 

Two quick goals by Auriel Bill to open the second period put the Pioneers ahead by four. They appeared to be headed for a blowout victory, but the Otters were able to right the ship over the next two quarters and keep it close. The teams each scored twice more before halftime, with Leilani Vazquez getting her name in the goal column and Bill securing the hat trick for the Pioneers. 

East Bay led 7-3 at the break, but three goals in the first four minutes of the second half by CSUMB cut that advantage in half at 8-6. But that was as close as the Otters would get. Bill answered with her fourth goal of the day, and then Brittany Smith scored on the final possession of the period to make it 10-6. 

The Pioneers tallied three more goals in the fourth to stretch their lead out in the final minutes. Bill finished with three assists to go along with her four goals, while Garcia and Ivanna Anderson netted two apiece. In total, 10 different Pioneers scored against Monterey Bay. Makenna Nation picked up the victory in the cage, totaling eight saves. 

The second game of the day followed a mostly opposite script for CSUEB. They fell behind early before rallying back to make the game close in the third and fourth quarters, but ultimately couldn't pull off the comeback against a talented APU squad.

The Cougars got on the scoreboard first, then Beverly Ayers answered with a goal a minute and a half into the contest. But Azusa scored three straight times before the end of the first period, then netted the only goal of the second, then opened the third period with another goal, extending their lead to 6-1.

The Pioneers had gone almost two full quarters without scoring when Smith finally broke the drought. East Bay then grabbed the momentum and went on a scoring splurge in the final two minutes of the third. Van Dyke found the back of the net twice as the Pioneers pulled with 7-5 heading into the fourth.

They wouldn't get any closer, unfortunately, as the Cougars scored two goals in the first three minutes of the fourth and turned in outstanding defense down the stretch to prevent a Pioneer comeback.

Nation notched seven saves in the loss, as APU converted six goals in 6-on-5 powerplay situations. 

The Pioneers are back in action next weekend when they travel down to Santa Clara for a doubleheader on Mar. 17 against the Broncos and Concordia-Irvine.