HAYWARD, Calif. -- After playing 19 of their first 22 games away from Pioneer Pool, the Cal State East Bay water polo team returns home this weekend to host a pair of conference rivals to wrap up the regular season.

The red-hot Pioneers, who have won seven of their last eight contests, will take on Fresno Pacific for the second time this season on Friday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. The following day, CSUEB welcomes in Sonoma State for the regular season finale, which is also set for a 1:00 p.m. start. 

Saturday's game will be preceded by the annual "Senior Day" ceremony to honor the careers of the four East Bay seniors on the 2018 roster: Beverly Ayers, Gabriella Garcia, Leilani Vazquez, and Erika McFeggan.

The Pioneers are coming off a satisfying 15-8 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay on the road last weekend, which was highlighted by a career-high six goals from freshman Adrien Van Dyke. The rookie has scored at least four goals in four of her last five games and currently leads the team with 41 on the season.

East Bay picked up a 14-7 win over FPU when the teams met back on Jan. 27 in Fresno. The Pioneers have now won 16 straight match-ups with the Sunbirds dating back 11 years. Sophomore Auriel Bill racked up four goals, four assists, and three steals in that game to kick off what has been an outstanding season for the Saskatchewan native, as she leads all Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) players with 41 assists and 80 total points this season.

Fresno Pacific enters Friday's contest on a six-game losing streak, but five of those losses were to nationally ranked teams. The Sunbirds do have victories this season over WWPA squads Sonoma State and CSUMB. FPU's Sam Witt is the second-leading scorer in the conference with 34 goals and 38 assists, while Julia Ponce (31 goals, 28 assists), Hannah Holly (28 goals, 21 assists), and Emily Knowles (30 goals) also provide offensive firepower for FPU.

The Pioneers then close out the regular season slate with their most important game of the year. CSUEB defeated Sonoma State, 13-9, two weeks ago in Rohnert Park, but this Saturday's game will serve as the designated WWPA contest between the two teams. So far East Bay is 2-1 in conference games with a loss to No. 12 UC San Diego and wins over FPU and CSUMB. A victory over the Seawolves would secure the No. 2 seed for the Pioneers at the upcoming WWPA Championships.

Van Dyke notched four goals against SSU in their last meeting on Mar. 31, and Cheyenne Pena recorded a hat trick as the Pioneers pulled away in the fourth quarter. Sonoma is coming off a 15-10 win over Monterey Bay at home last Sunday, led by five goals each from Cassidy Mundt and Lily Carlon. Freshman Taylor Brooks is the team's leading scorer this season with 33 goals.