HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay water polo team returns to action this week with a trip to Rohnert Park to take on conference rival Sonoma State in a 1:00 p.m. contest.

This will be the first meeting of the season between the Pioneers and Seawolves, although it will not count towards either team's Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) record. 

This has been an excellent rivalry in recent years. In 2017, all four meetings were decided by two goals or less. The Pioneers won two out of three during the regular season to secure the No. 2 seed in the WWPA Tournament, their highest in program history. But the Seawolves got revenge with a 7-6 win in the semifinal game. 

Sonoma State has had a tough season in 2018 with just five victories, although they are coming off a 10-7 win over fellow WWPA squad Cal State Monterey Bay last week. Freshman Taylor Brooks is SSU's leading scorer with 30 goals.

CSUEB has been red hot over the last six weeks. The Pioneers have won 10 of their last 13 after taking three out of four during their road trip to Southern California last week during spring break. They notched blowout victories over Redlands, La Verne, and Chapman, and fell to No. 20 ranked Cal State Northridge.

Sophomore Auriel Bill totaled eight goals, eight assists, and four steals on the road trip, and was subsequently named WWPA Player of the Week on Wednesday. It was second consecutive weekly award for the Pioneers and their third of the season. Bill leads the team this season with 36 goals, 35 assists, and 29 steals. She currently ranks as the leading scorer in the WWPA with 71 total points.

The Player of the Week honoree from the previous week, freshman Adrien Van Dyke, led CSUEB with 11 goals in the four games last week and ranks second on the squad with 31 goals for the year. Fellow rookie Maci Taylor is second on the Pioneers with 17 assists and has drawn a team-high 25 ejections.

With a 12-8 record, East Bay is one victory away from matching its total from last year, when the team finished 13-13.