Women's Water Polo Update, Jan. 15
Jan. 15, 2017 Sunday, Jan. 15 Recap by Cal
SARATOGA - Cal sophomore Rachael Lewin says the depth the Golden Bears possess this year makes playing on the team a lot of fun for everyone.
She seemed to especially enjoy the Bears' season-opening performance Sunday at the LouStrong Memorial Tournament.
Lewin scored five goals, including four against No. 12 Pacific, and Cal rolled to victories over No. 14 San Jose State and No. 12 UOP at West Valley College.
The Bears defeated the Spartans 12-3 and the Tigers 15-7.
Cal had 11 different players score goals in the two games. Juniors Dora Antal and Roser Tarrago, both appearing in their first games after taking a year off to play in the 2016 Summer Olympics, each found the cage four times. Antal moved into eighth place on the Bears' all-time scoring list with 148 in her career.
"Today was really encouraging," said Lewin, who had two goals all of last season. "There is always stuff to improve on, but this is a good start to know our potential. The team is really coming together well."
With the return of Antal, Tarrago and junior Anna Illes from a redshirt year due to the Olympics and the emergence last season of players like Emily Loughlin, Carla Carrega and Kindred Paul, the Bears feature one of their deepest and most talented teams ever. Others such as seniors Genevieve Weed and Stephanie Mutafyan and sophomores Kacey Avalos and Sarah Siepker also factor big into the Bears' plans this season.
"We don't want to play just six athletes," said first-year coach Coralie Simmons, who has a successful debut as Cal's leader. "We have the potential to play a lot of players. We want to be able to bring players into the game in waves."
Lewin said she didn't expect to make such an impact Sunday, but her performance just illustrates the depth of weapons the Bears feature this season.
"She shows glimpses here and there," Simmons said. "There's that constant push to make sure the lights go on for everyone. Other teams are going to be throwing their entire arsenal at us as well, so we have to make sure we can go six in and six out and have everyone step in when needed."
The Bears actually fell behind 3-1 to San Jose State with 1:14 left in the first quarter but didn't allow the Spartans to score the remainder of the game. Cal got off to a stronger start against the Tigers, breaking open an early 2-2 tie with six goals in a row to lead 8-2 with 2:34 left before halftime.
Sophomore goalie Madison Tagg made 11 saves in the win over the Tigers. She split time with senior Madeline Trabucco against San Jose State and added four saves. Trabucco had seven against the Spartans.
The Bears return to action in their home opener against Cal State Northridge on Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. No. 4 Cal 12, No. 14 San Jose State 3
Cal 2 4 4 2 - 12
SJSU 3 0 0 0 – 3
Cal Goals: Dora Antal 2, Carla Carrega 2, Emily Loughlin 2, Sarah Siepker 2, Roser Tarrago 2, Kacey
Avalos, Rachael Lewin.
SJSU Goals: Donia Momen, Sierra Painter, Cara Robinson.
Cal Saves: Madison Tagg 4, Madeline Trabucco 7.
SJSU Saves: Katelynn Thompson 10, Shannon Spence 2.
No. 4 Cal 15, No. 12 Pacific 7
UOP 2 0 3 2 – 7
Cal 5 3 3 4 – 15
UOP Goals: Rachel Krieger 3, Kyra Christmas, Karolina Hlavata, Viktoria Tamas.
Cal Goals: Rachael Lewin 4, Dora Antal 2, Roser Tarrago 2, Emma Wright 2, Kacey Avalos, Anna Illes,
Emily Loughlin, Kindred Paul, Genevieve Weed.
UOP Saves: Alexis Hollinrake 6.
Cal Saves: Madison Tagg 11.
Sunday, Jan. 15 Recap by UCLA
Saratoga, Calif. -- The No. 3 UCLA Bruins completed their northern trip to the LouStrong Invitational with a 15-1 victory versus the No. 17 UC Davis Aggies. The decisive win was the second consecutive for the Bruins to begin 2017. Sophomore goalkeeper Carlee Kapana, who allowed just two goals during LouStrong play, recorded 14 saves in the win. Nine Bruins found the back of the net, meanwhile, as junior Devin Grab and senior Alexa Tielmann each scored three. Senior Kodi Hill got scoring started for UCLA (2-0) at the 7:22 mark of the initial frame, with the first of her two goals. Freshman Maddie Musselman continued her torrid start shortly thereafter with her sixth goal of the early season. UC Davis junior Paige Virgil answered the first of Tielmann's scores at 2:03 of the first to cut the Aggie deficit to 3-1. Second-quarter scoring did not get started until 3:59 of the frame, when Hill netted her second. From there, senior Aubrie Monahan, Tielmann and junior Nicole Reynolds scored furiously after each other to put the Bruin halftime edge at 7-1. It was much of the same in the second half, as seniors Mackenzie Barr and Rachel Fattal scored within one minute of each other to push the Bruin lead to 9-1. The final 2:51 of the frame saw Tielmann and Monahan add to their earlier goals and Grab score her first to give UCLA a 12-1 lead. Grab added two more goals in the fourth and sophomore Sarah Sheldon added her first of the season to cap the scoring at 15-1. Through two games, Bruin scoring leaders are Musselmann (six), Fattal, Grab and Hill (five) and Tielmann (four). Kapana has recorded 20 saves in the cage. The Bruins will take their 2-0 mark to Santa Barbara next weekend, with a Saturday date against Pacific slated for 1:30 p.m. PT in the UCSB Winter Invitational.
Sunday, Jan. 15 Recap by San Jose State
Saratoga, Calif.------ After one-sided losses to three teams ranked two through four in the Collegiate Water Polo Association's preseason poll, San Jose State University displayed its resiliency in a 10-9 win over UC Davis in the final match of the third annual LouStrong Invitational at West Valley College. Sophomore Carla Toha Vilanova led the #14-Spartans (1-3) in scoring in the UC Davis match with three goals including what turned out to be the deciding goal at 2:04 of the third quarter just after a San Jose State power play. Toha Vilanova, the top freshman scorer in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with 53 goals last season, was scoreless in the team's first three matches against #2-ranked Stanford, #3-ranked UCLA and #4-ranked California. "I was relieved. I felt like the team was working, not just for my goal, but for all the other goals for my teammates," Toha Vilanova said. Seven San Jose State players scored in the win over the #17-ranked Aggies. Donia Momen had two goals. McKenna Yates, Cara Robinson, Sierra Painter, Tessa Draper and Michelle Taikeff scored once. For Yates and Draper, it was their first of the season. Taikeff scored the match's most unlikely goal tossing a shot from near mid-pool at the UC Davis goal into the sun as the shot clock expired near the end of the second quarter. "When I'm that far out and the clock is running down, I try to lob it cross cage, hope for the best and it went in. Every goal counts no matter what," said Taikeff about her goal that gave San Jose State a 6-3 lead with 1:37 to go before halftime. Though UC Davis (0-3) tied the match at 6-6 and 7-7 in the third quarter, San Jose State (1-3) went ahead to stay on scores by Yates, Draper and Toha Vilanova to end the period ahead, 10-7. "Everyone who came in really stepped up. It took teamwork and resiliency to play against the adversity to finish the game and get away with a win," said starter Sierra Painter, whose second-quarter goal gave San Jose State its biggest lead of the match, 5-1. Though UC Davis scored nine goals, it was the fewest San Jose State allowed in its four-match opening weekend. "It (the defense) improved a lot. We tried to take out their best player and we were able to stop her from scoring a lot of goals. They have a real good 2-meter player (Greta Kohlmoos, who scored once). That was part of our game plan," said San Jose State head coach Gabor Sarusi about the team's first win under his leadership. Katelynn Thompson played the entire game as the Spartans goalkeeper and was credited with eight saves. She stopped a shot by UC Davis' Heather Johnson on the Aggies' final possession of the game to preserve the lead and the victory. "It showed we weren't defeated mentally. We showed we were able to stick it out. We didn't have the mentality that we got destroyed by three teams," Taikeff said about the first three matches which included a 12-3 loss to #4-California (2-0) earlier in the day. "We fought through the entire (UC Davis) game no what the score came out to be. No matter how many times they scored in a row, we always fought back and we played a team game and that's why we won." San Jose State returns to action, Saturday, January 28 playing two matches in the University of California's Speedo Mini tournament. The Spartans face Long Beach State at 9:00 a.m. and CSUN at 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 14 Recap by UCLA
SARATOGA, Calif. -- No. 3 UCLA rolled to a 20-1 victory against the No. 14 San Jose State Spartans Saturday in the Bruins' 2017 debut at the LouStrong Invitational. Ten different Bruins scored in the win, with freshman Maddie Musselman totaling five goals in her first collegiate action. Rachel Fattal added four scores of her own in the senior's return from an Olympic redshirt year. Musselman began scoring for the Bruins at 6:54 of the first quarter and added a second shortly thereafter, as UCLA (1-0) never looked back. Fattal matched her Olympic teammate with two first-half goals, while senior Alys Williams and junior Devin Grab added one apiece to extend the halftime lead to 6-0. The Spartans (0-2) would not score until the 0:40 mark of the third on a shot by senior Donia Momen, as Bruin sophomore goalie Carlee Kapana recorded six saves in the cage. UCLA had already amassed a 12-0 lead at that point and senior Mackenzie Barr tacked one on with 0:18 remaining to push the lead to 13-1. Seven more goals would fly through the net in the fourth, including three from senior Kodi Hill, who was also making her return from an Olympic redshirt year. Other Bruin second-half scores came from Musselman (three), Fattal (two), freshman Jenna Hurst, senior Alexa Tielmann, senior Kelsey O'Brien, sophomore Grace Reego and Grab. The win pushes UCLA's all-time record versus San Jose State to 34-0. The 19-goal advantage marked the greatest by a Bruin team since the 2014 opener versus Concordia (Irvine). The Bruins return to action Sunday versus UC Davis at 11:00 a.m. PT. in another LouStrong Invitational tilt.
Saturday, Jan. 14 Recap by Stanford
SARATOGA, Calif. – No. 1 Stanford began its season with a pair of convincing wins on the first day of the LouStrong Memorial hosted by San Jose State on Saturday morning. The Cardinal defeated No. 14 San Jose State, 17-1, before dispatching No. 17 UC Davis, 21-2. Sophomore Madison Berggren scored six combined goals in the two games, while Jamie Neushul and Dani Jackovich each scored four times. Returning after a year away from Stanford to train with the United States Women's Senior National Team, Gabby Stone returned to the cage and made seven saves in the opener. Goalkeeper Julia Hermann, an All-American in 2016, took over against UC Davis and made nine stops in the rout. The tournament concludes tomorrow with an exhibition against No. 3 UCLA at 8:30 a.m. No. 1 Stanford 17 – No. 14 San Jose State 1 Two-time Olympic MVP Maggie Steffens returned to the pool and collected a hat trick for the Cardinal in her first collegiate action since the 2015 NCAA final, scoring in each of the second, third and fourth quarters to lead the charge in Stanford's 17-1 victory over the host Spartans. Dani Jackovich, Jamie Neushul and Madison Berggren staked Stanford to an early 3-1 lead and Cassidy Papa added two along with Steffens' tally in the second to make the score 6-1 at the half. The Cardinal tacked on another four in the third before exploding for seven goals from six different players in the final period. Shannon Cleary had a pair in the fourth and was backed up with scores from Dani Jackovich, Katie Dudley, Jordan Raney, Steffens and Sophia Stefan. Stanford converted all but one of its six 6-on-5 opportunities and went 1-of-2 on penalty shots.
No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 14 San Jose State
Jan. 14, 2017 • Saratoga, Calif.
SJSU 1 – 0 – 0 – 0 = 1
STAN 3 – 3 – 4 – 7 = 17
San Jose State Goals: Michelle Taikeff
San Jose State Saves: Katelynn Thompson 4
Stanford Goals: Maggie Steffens 3, Madison Berggren 2, Shannon Cleary 2, Dani Jackovich 2, Jamie
Neushul 2, Cassidy Papa 2, Katie Dudley, Jordan Raney, Sophia Stefan, Mackenzie Wiley
Stanford Saves: Gabby Stone 7
No. 1 Stanford 21 – No. 17 UC Davis 2
Madison Berggren poured in a career-high four, fellow sophomore Kat Klass collected her eighth career hat trick and Stanford scored its most goals since March 20, 2015 against Harvard (23) in beating the Aggies 21-2. Jordan Raney scored two of Stanford's eight first-quarter goals and the Cardinal added five more in the second to lead 13-1 at the break. Raney, Dani Jackovich, Jamie Neushul, Kat Klass and Makenzie Fischer each had two goals in the first half. For Fischer, a 2016 Olympic gold medalist, her first-quarter strike with 2:04 on the clock was the freshman's first collegiate goal. Stanford was up 15-1 late in the third when UC Davis slipped its second past goalkeeper Julia Hermann. The Cardinal would score the game's final six to secure the 19-goal win. Stanford went 3-for-5 on the power play against the Aggies.
UCD 0 – 1 – 1 – 0 = 2
STAN 8 – 5 – 3 – 5 = 21
UC Davis Goals: Greta Kohlmoos, Chloe Robinson
UC Davis Saves: Caitlin Golding 4, Avery Dotterer 3
Stanford Goals: Madison Berggren 4, Kat Klass 3, Makenzie Fischer 2, Dani Jackovich 2, Jamie Neushul
2, Jordan Raney 2, Mackenzie Wiley 2, Katie Dudley, Sophia Monaghan, Cassidy Papa, Sophia Stefan
Stanford Saves: Julia Hermann 9