Box Scores: CSUEB 10, CMS 4  |  Pomona-Pitzer 11, CSUEB 9

REDLANDS, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay water polo team split its pair of games Saturday to open the Bulldog Invitational, hosted by the University of Redlands. The Pioneers turned in a dominant defensive effort in cruising to a 10-4 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the opener, then came up a bit short against Pomona-Pitzer by a final of 11-9 to finish the evening.

Reigning Division II National Player of the Year Auriel Bill racked up four goals and four assists in the doubleheader to lead the way.

The Pioneers were in control from the outset of the first contest, thanks largely to their defense. Maci Taylor, Brittany Smith, and Bill each scored in the first period. Bill found the back of the cage again in the second, and Adrien Van Dyke got in the scoresheet with a power-play goal as well. 

They took that 5-0 advantage into halftime as freshman goalkeeper Daniela Passoni tallied five saves and kept the Athenas completely off the scoreboard in the first 16 minutes. 

Van Dyke scored a goal in both the third and fourth quarters to secure a hat trick. Meanwhile, Tahnee Trew, Payton Bosque, and Cheyenne Pena got in on the fun as well. 

Passoni earned the victory with her scoreless performance, then senior Makenna Nation and freshman Brighton Kinney both saw action in the cage over the final two periods to close out the victory.

After a very brief rest, East Bay was back in the pool to battle the top-ranked Division III squad in the nation. Pomona-Pitzer lived up to its billing in that regard and gave the Pioneers and extremely tight game. 

Smith opened the scoring 1:08 into the contest for CSUEB, but 20 seconds later the Sagehens evened the score. Those 20 seconds was actually the only time the Pioneers led in the match, although the teams spent the whole evening trading goals back and forth.

Trew and Briana Ruiz both scored in the first, but Pomona-Pitzer held a 5-3 lead after eight minutes. Bill and Van Dyke each tallied goals early in the second, then with less than a minute remaining, Smith scored again to tie the score 6-6. Unfortunately, the Sagehens answered with two crucial scores before the end of the period and took an 8-6 lead into the break.

Once again East Bay evened things up as Smith scored on the first possession of the third quarter to notch a hat trick, then Maeve Flynn netted a goal five minutes later to make it 8-8. But once again, the Pioneers weren't able to keep Pomona-Pitzer off the scoreboard in the closing seconds of a quarter. Back-to-back Sagehen goals gave them a two-goal lead back heading into the final period. 

As it turned out, CSUEB didn't have another comeback in them. Pomona-Pitzer made it 11-8, and then Bill answered back with 2:32 remaining. The Pioneers were unable to find the back of the cage again in their last few possessions as the Sagehens hung on for the win.

Passoni got the start in goal again for East Bay and racked up 13 saves. 

The Pioneers will be back at it early on Sunday with a 9:30 a.m. game against the tournament host Redlands, then they close out the weekend against Toronto at noon.