FULLERTON and ORANGE, Calif. – Cal State East Bay women's water polo started a three game road trip to Southern California as they took on Cal State Fullerton and Chapman on Thursday. The Pioneers lost 9-5 to the Titans in the early game and won 13-6 over the Panthers in the evening game.
Cal State Fullerton 9, Cal State East Bay 5
The Titans led 3-2 at the end of the first quarter.
Luna Sarmiento and
Rachel Heredia scored goals for the Pioneers in the opening frame.
Although Sarmiento struck again for a goal in the second quarter, Fullerton led 5-3 at halftime.
The Titans would score the only goals of the third quarter to lead 7-3 going into the fourth.
In the fourth quarter, the Titans would gain their largest lead of the game at five, at 8-3, on a Delaney Wilder goal with 7:35 left. The Pioneers answered with two goals – one by
Raisa Guisado and one by
Elise Whitworth. With Cal State Fullerton adding one more goal, the Titans won 9-5 in the first ever meeting between the two teams.
Cal State Fullerton outshot Cal State East Bay, 36-24 and each team won two opening sprints.
Sarmiento finished with two goals and one assist.
Cal State East Bay 13, Chapman 6
Both teams finished the opening quarter 2-2, with Pioneers goals from
Lola Gill and
Hope Grantham.
In the second quarter, the two teams would continue to trade goals. The Pioneers took the lead for good, at 5-4, with 1:11 left in the half on a
Bailey Barlow strike. The Pioneers led 5-4 at halftime.
The Pioneers would score three goals to open the third quarter with two from
Elise Whitworth and one from Grantham. The Panthers would score to trim the Pioneers' lead to three at 8-5 with 2:16 left. The Pioneers added three more goals from
Bailey Barlow to give the Pioneers a 11-5 at the end of the third quarter.
Sarmiento and Barlow had a goal each in the fourth quarter, as CSUEB outscored the Panthers, 2-1 en route to a 13-6 win.
Barlow finished the match with five goals. On both occasions in which she scored five goals in 2023, they were both against Chapman.
Cal State East Bay: 11-12
Cal State Fullerton: 11-15
Chapman: 7-15
The Pioneers will finish up their Southern California trip tomorrow as they take on Biola University in WWPA play. The opening sprint is set for 1 pm. On March 17, Biola defeated the Pioneers, 20-15 in Hayward.
