Steven Barker
Opinion Editor
Despite having flashes of solid offensive and defensive play, the CSUB water polo team fell to the Cal Golden Bears during its match on Saturday, April 11. Prior to the game, the ’Runners honored the team’s six seniors (Victoria Cavaldoro, Sierra Peltcher, Jessica Browning, Shannon McKenzie, Amanda Nesbit and Sam Shead) as part of the team’s Senior Day festivities.
The first quarter was frantic for both teams. After the ’Runners allowed an early goal, junior Taylor Hansen fired a shot past the goalie, evening the score at 1-1. A mere 38 seconds after the ’Runners’ first goal, Cal would strike again and seize control of the quarter. Although Hanson would score a second goal with 42 seconds remaining in the first quarter, the Golden Bears punished CSUB’s defensive inconsistency, scoring three goals themselves, ending the first quarter with a 4-2 lead.
Defensive struggles continued to plague the ’Runners in the second quarter. Two successive goals by the Golden Bears—scoring at 6:18 and 5:59 respectively—forced a ’Runners’ timeout, but Cal would continue their momentum. While sophomore Janelle Shelby scored two consecutive goals midway through the second quarter, the ’Runners’ offensive inconsistency and defensive struggles stifled the team’s attempts to reduce the deficit. The ’Runners, allowing three goals to the Golden Bears in the second quarter, trailed Cal 7-4 at halftime. Past halftime, CSUB could never reduce the deficit to less than three goals.
“We’re not as consistent as we could be,” said Head Coach Jason Gall. “Even though we’ve had success against these caliber teams as far as the little things, we’re still tentative at times. We’re not as aggressive as – we’re not mentally playing to our potential.”
Cal’s success continued into the second half. While Browning’s two goals and freshman Niki De Leon’s lone goal in the fourth quarter helped revive the CSUB offense, the Golden Bears added seven goals in the final two quarters to defeat the ’Runners 14-7.
After the game, Gall spoke of the impact the departing seniors have had on the water polo team.
“This has been a solid group,” said Gall. “A lot of them have been four year starters, so they have a ton of games under their belt. They’ve been here only a year less than I’ve been here, and they’ve been here only a year less than I’ve been here, so it’ll be different not having them around next year.”
“Over the years they’ve provided a lot of leadership in and out of the water, so it’ll be different,” Gall added.
While the loss to Cal brought the ’Runners’ home finale to a disappointing close, Gall remains optimistic about CSUB’s chances to compete in the upcoming MPSF Championship.
“We have a couple of games left,” Gall said, referring to CSUB’s upcoming match on April 20 against San Jose State and the beginning of the MPSF Championship on April 26. “We still have a couple of winnable games, so we have to keep trying to improve to win those games.”
