BOX SCORE (PDF)ROHNERT PARK -- The Sonoma State women's water polo team swam out to an impressive 10-2 lead early in the third quarter and held on in the end for an 11-8 victory over WWPA rival Cal State East Bay on Senior Day at Rudloff Pool in Rohnert Park.
The Seawolves (8-17) were led by the three goals by
Brittny Hummel on offense and 14 saves by
Andrea Mallul on defense, while the Pioneers (11-15) got three goals from Casey Rushforth, all in the fourth quarter.
Hummel got the scoring started with a goal just 1:28 into the match to break the scoreless tie, but Cal State East Bay responded with two goals by Taylor Cross on back-to-back possessions, including a successful five-meter penalty shot to put the visitors up 2-1. Hummel then scored her second goal just about a minute later to tie the match up at 2-2, fueling what would become a 9-0 SSU run to take the aforementioned 10-2 lead after
Nicole Browning threw one in at the 5:41 mark of the third period.
That's when the Pioneers began to rally, scoring six unanswered goals to pull within two at 10-8 with 2:57 left in the contest, but Hummel completed her hat trick with 1:27 remaining for the 11-8 lead and and the SSU defense came up big, securing the victory.
Cal State East Bay outshot Sonoma State 35-26, but Mallul made some huge saves, including eight in the first half. Her and the Seawolf defense came up big, especially early in the contest; they didn't allow the Pioneers to convert on any of their 10 power play chances. Sonoma State, meanwhile, were 3 of 8 in 6-on-5 situations in the match.
Kaysie Lewis and Browning each scored two goals on Friday while
Shannon Baer,
Jessica Becker,
Noelle Herrera and
Lexii Morabito all had one. To go along with her three goals, Hummel also added four assists.
Sonoma State will host its annual alumni game on Saturday at 11:00 am before hitting the road for its final regular season match of the season -- next Saturday at UC Davis, a 10:30 am start time. The Seawolves will then fly to Geneva, Ohio to compete in the WWPA Championships on Apr. 24-26.
