Cal State East Bay Returns Home for Pair of Games
- March 12, 2010
HAYWARD, Calif. - The Cal State East Bay women's water polo team returns home for the first time in over two weeks to play host to both Sonoma State and Macalester College on Saturday afternoon. The Pioneers (14-6, 7-1 WWPA) will take a break from the tournament slate, playing just two games this weekend after three straight four-game weekends.
East Bay is coming off a 3-1 weekend at last week's "Cal Lu"-fornia Spring Classic at Cal Lutheran. The Pioneers struggled in a loss to a tough sixth-ranked Arizona State team in the first game before bouncing back to down Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, La Verne and Pomona-Pitzer to finish the weekend. The Pioneers were led by freshman utility Claire Pierce's eight goals, while junior driver Tristan Kennedy-Donahue added five goals on the weekend.
After starting off slow, Pierce has lit up the scoreboard over the past three weeks, scoring 39 goals in 16 games. The Aussie is pacing East Bay in her rookie season, scoring 49 goals. Meanwhile, junior utility Whitney Bell is second on the squad with 38 goals, followed closely by junior two meter Liz Warren and senior utility Jenna Casady. Senior Lauren Merrill and freshman Emily Hucal have shared time in goal, combining for 121 saves on the season.
Saturday's first matchup will feature a familiar foe in Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) opponent Sonoma State. The Seawolves bring a 2-13 overall record and an 0-12 mark in conference play into the weekend. SSU is looking to snap a five-game losing streak that dates back to a Feb. 20 win over Cal Lutheran. Among those five losses is a 17-16 overtime defeat at the hands of the Pioneers on Feb. 21 at the Seawolf Splash Tournament.
Sonoma State is led by senior two meter Laurel Stricklin's 32 goals on the year, with junior Holly Armijo's 14 goals a distant second on the team. Brooke Smith's 13 assists are tops on the team, while junior Gina Uliana has been a mainstay in goal, making 125 saves on the year.
The Pioneers will also play host to Macalester College of St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday afternoon. The Scots (1-4) received votes in last week's CWPA Division III poll before going 1-4 to open their season. Last year, Macalester finished seventh in the Collegiate III national tournament.
Senior utility Sarah Ellerton is leading the Scots with 28 goals on the season, including a nine-goal performance in their season-opening win against Chatham. Macalester's lone goalie is freshman Hanna Strauss-Albee, who made 13 saves in her collegiate debut.
The Pioneers and Seawolves are set for a noon start on Saturday at Pioneer Pool. The first 100 students to arrive for the game will receive free pizza and giveaways and the first 50 students will get a free Pioneer water polo t-shirt. Saturday's finale with Macalester will begin at 3 p.m.