Box Score (PDF)

HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay water polo team wrapped up the regular season Saturday with a 13-6 home victory over Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) rival Sonoma State on a beautiful afternoon at Pioneer Pool. 

The Pioneers will enter WWPA Championships in two weeks with a 16-8 overall record after closing the season on a hot streak, winning five straight and nine of their last 10. They posted a 3-1 record in designated conference matches and will likely earn the No. 2 seed at the postseason tournament. 

Prior to Saturday's home finale, CSUEB celebrated the careers of its four seniors -- Beverly Ayers, Gabriella Garcia, Erika McFeggan, and Leilani Vazquez -- during the annual "Senior Day" ceremony.

The emotion of those festivities may have contributed to East Bay's slow start, as the team went scoreless through nearly four minutes once the game got started. The Seawolves struck first to grab a 1-0 lead early in the first, but CSUEB's offense finally erupted in the latter half of the period. Brooke Hodgkinson netted the first goal for the Pioneers to even the score, and then Auriel Bill and Ivanna Anderson scored twice each as the home team raced out to a 5-1 lead after one quarter. 

The scoring slowed down in the second, with Anderson securing a hat trick to make it 6-1, and Adrien Van Dyke adding to her WWPA-leading goal total with her first of the afternoon. That was all the offense for East Bay in the second, but goalkeeper Makenna Nation and the Pioneer defense limited SSU to a single goal to take a comfortable 7-2 lead into halftime. 

McFeggan took over in the cage for the second half, and the senior was effective in limiting any hopes of a Seawolf comeback as the visitors never got closer than a four-goal deficit. 

Bill scored her third goal of the game on the first possession of the third quarter, then notched her fourth on East Bay's very last possession of the game. Van Dyke and Pena each found the back of the cage for the second, and Briana Ruiz closed out the third quarter with a pair of scores, as the Pioneers were able to extend their lead in the final minutes.

Next up, Cal State East Bay will head to La Jolla for the 2018 WWPA Championships, taking place Apr. 27-29 at UC San Diego's Canyonview Aquatic Center.