NORTHRIDGE, CA—No. 25 CSUN Water Polo (10-16, 0-2 BWC) could not overcome a slow start in its 10-4 Big West Conference loss to No. 16 Long Beach State on Sunday afternoon at Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center.

Katelyn Fairchild led CSUN in scoring with two goals and Amy Yule and McKenzie Pollei each got into the scoring column as well.

Both teams were unable to get going offensively in the early going of the match. Neither side cracked the scoring column for half of the first period until Tori Morrissey hit the net to give Long Beach State the 1-0 lead. Over the next two minutes, the 49ers added two more goals from Emily Garczynski and Morrissey to build a three-goal advantage. CSUN struggled to score on the other end in the first period, going scoreless in the entire eight-minute session.

LBSU continued to add to its lead with a goal from Virginia Smith in the opening minute of the second quarter before CSUN finally ended the scoring drought at the 5:48 mark of the period. Capitalizing off a 49er turnover, Yule tallied the Matadors’ first score of the day to cut the lead to 4-1. Two minutes later, CSUN moved a little closer as Fairchild recorded her first goal of the afternoon.

With their lead trimmed to two, the 49ers went on a run to end the second period. Morrissey netted her third of the half and goals from Karley Kraft and Garczynski gave Long Beach State a 7-2 lead at the half.

The Matadors held the 49ers scoreless for half of the third period until Morrissey scored her fourth of the match at the 3:59 mark. Pollei finally ended the LBSU run with 2:32 on the clock, tallying a goal off a 49ers ejection but Long Beach added another just 00:15 later to take a 9-3 advantage.

In the fourth, Morrissey picked up her fifth score of the game early to push the LBSU lead to seven. Fairchild was able to get the goal right back with her second tally of the match following an exclusion with 2:47 left to play but the Matadors would not get any closer.

Yule’s second quarter goal pushed her season total to 39 and she has now scored in 14 of the last 17 Matador matches. The team’s third leading scorer Fairchild sits at 20 goals on the season after two scores on Sunday.

The Matadors return home on Saturday, April 9 for their Big West Conference home opener against Hawai’i at 12 p.m.

CSUN: 0-2-1-1 = 4
LBSU: 3-4-2-1 = 10

CSUN Goal Scorers: Fairchild 2, Yule, Pollei
LBSU Goal Scorers: Morrissey 5, Smith 2, Garczynski 2, Kraft

CSUN GK Saves: Averell 5, Van Vugt 1
LBSU GK Saves: Butler 10