In a thunderous 20-8 victory, No. 13 UC San Diego women’s water polo (7-6, 2-1 Big West) won its second Big West game of the season against No. 23 Cal State Northridge (10-4, 1-1 Big West) on Saturday. Despite an early CSUN surge, the Tritons delivered a complete performance on both ends, including an astounding seven goals from senior utility player Cascade Stensland to seal the win for UCSD.
The Matadors started strong, striking first just 27 seconds into the match. However, UCSD was quick to respond: A goal from sophomore utility player Evelyn Burns just 10 seconds later leveled the contest at one apiece. The Matadors reclaimed the lead shortly after, scoring twice more before Stensland brought the Tritons back to 3-2 with under a minute left in the first quarter. With momentum still wavering after the first eight minutes, the stage was set for a match-defining second quarter.
The Tritons flipped the script in the second period with a barrage of offensive pressure, scoring seven goals to CSUN’s three. Stensland was at the center of UCSD’s offense, scoring three goals. Junior attacker Abigail Schechter and freshman center Berkley Sinner also contributed to the scoresheet during the offensive surge, with Burns adding another before halftime to push the Tritons’ advantage to a commanding 9-6 lead at the break.
UCSD’s offensive momentum only accelerated in the third quarter. Stensland continued her relentless scoring run, getting her fifth goal of the match and giving the Tritons a five-goal lead. Though CSUN found the back of the net twice, goals from freshman attacker Caitlin Stayt and redshirt freshman attacker Kenya Cassidy — as well as Sinner and Schechter — saw the third quarter end with the Tritons holding a commanding 14-8 advantage.
In a fourth quarter display that was nothing short of dominant, the Tritons extended their lead by another six goals, with Stensland getting her sixth and seventh goals of the match. Junior attacker Kyla Bruhn, freshman utility player Alex Anghera, junior utility player Olivia Obando, and sophomore attacker Ally Bone all made it on the score sheet as well. On the other side of the pool, senior goalkeeper Bria Zwaschka made several stellar saves to completely shut out the Matadors in the fourth quarter, sealing a decisive 20-8 victory that sent the message that the Tritons aren’t just here to play, but to dominate in the Big West.
The Tritons will return to Canyonview Aquatic Center to face Michigan on Wednesday before traveling to Oahu to face Hawai’i on Saturday for their fourth conference game of the season.
