Tritons slay Pioneers in Hayward
April 8, 2015
Back-to-back losses have the Cal State East Bay women’s water polo team in rough waters with just two games remaining in the regular season.
The Pioneers are now 11-14 overall and 2-3 in Western Water Polo Association games after the 15-13 overtime loss to the UC San Diego Tritons at Pioneer Pool on Sunday. The Tritons improved to 16-17 overall and 3-0 in WWPA competition.
The match was close the entire game and the Tritons led the Pioneers 3-2 after the first period and maintained a one-point advantage with an 8-7 halftime lead. CSUEB junior utility player Tori Dettloff led the way for the Pioneers with three of the goals in the first half while Triton junior attackers Julia Kirkland and Emma Sassoon both scored two goals in the first half.
That was a great game. I am so proud of the way we played
— CSUEB Head Coach Lisa Cooper
The game was tied at 10 after the third period and with 1:48 left in the match CSUEB senior from Newark Alyssa Hess rocketed a goal past UCSD goalkeeper Courtney Miller to give the Pioneers a 13-12 advantage. With just nine seconds remaining Kirkland found her Triton teammate junior attacker Laurel Kistler for the game-tying goal.
UCSD went on to score two goals in overtime to close out the victory over the Pioneers 15-13. Kistler led the way for the Tritons with four goals on seven shot attempts and three assists. Kirkland led UCSD with five assists and added in three goals in the victory.
“The final score was a tough one to accept but we played a great game and I am excited for the possibility of playing them again in the conference tournament,” Dettloff said.
Detloff amassed a team-high five goals for CSUEB in the loss on 11 shots and Hess managed to net three goals on five shot attempts for the Pioneers.“I think a huge positive for us was that we used our versatility. We have a very deep bench and no matter what UCSD threw at us we had the manpower and the skills to answer them,” Dettloff said.
“When we played 6 on 6 water polo we were unstoppable. I think one thing that led to the loss was how many times we were ejected. UC San Diego scored most of their goals off of power plays.”
Dettloff now has 24 goals this season for CSUEB, which is a distant second behind team-leader junior Taylor Cross who has 40 this season.
Cross added to her team-high with two goals on five shots in the loss to the Tritons.
“That was a great game. I am so proud of the way we played,” CSUEB Head Coach Lisa Cooper said.
“Unfortunately we didn’t come away with the win, but we know we are right there with [UC San Diego].”
Tritons goalkeeper Miller has had a stellar season for UCSD and nine saves in the win.
CSUEB goalkeeper Marrina Nation also recorded nine saves while both went the distance and played 38 minutes in the overtime battle.
“I am so proud of our goalkeeper Courtney,” UCSD Head Coach Brad Kreutzkamp said.
“She became our all-time save leader this season and I couldn’t be prouder for such a hard worker.”
CSUEB Goalkeepers Coach Jayme Pekarske knows that the goalkeeping will have to improve and Nation has saved 184 goals this season while allowing 196.
“Clear, open, and concise communication with your teammates and coaches is necessary,” CSUEB Goalkeepers Coach Pekarske said.
“Communication sets a foundation of trust. Trust is the backbone of all relationships and is vital for success.”
The Pioneers have just two regular season games remaining this weekend before the WWPA Championships begin on April 24 in Ohio. CSUEB will travel to Rohnert Park on Friday to take on the Sonoma State Seawolves at 2 p.m. and then return home on Saturday to face the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners at 3 p.m. in the regular season finale at Pioneer Pool.
The Seawolves are 7-17 overall this season and have lost their last five games in a row while the Roadrunners are 12-13 overall and have lost six of their last eight contests.
