NORTHRIDGE – No. 23 CSUN Water Polo returns to the pool Friday for a pair of matches hosted by Cal Lutheran at the Samuelson Aquatics Center. The Matadors will face Carthage College at 9 a.m. before taking on Cal State Monterey Bay at 11:00 a.m.

The Matadors opened up the 2018 season going 2-2 at the UC Santa Barbara Winter Invite two weeks ago (Jan. 19-20). Opening up at UCSB for the seventh-straight season, the Matadors finished with a .500 winning percentage or better at the tournament for the first time since 2014 and for the third time overall. CSUN opened up the weekend with a 7-6 victory over Azusa Pacific and a 9-7 win over No. 25 Cal Baptist. The Matadors would fall to No. 8 Michigan 14-5 and to Fresno State by a narrow 10-9 margin.

Offensively, the Matadors were led by their seniors at the UCSB Invite as Paula Abellan Garcia and Katelyn Fairchild scored six goals apiece while fellow seniors Shannon Hovanesian and Madeleine Sanchez netted five goals each. Fairchild hit the game-tying and game-winning goals in the Matadors one-goal win over Azusa Pacific. In all, nine Matadors hit the back of the net at least once including freshmen Sara Dempsey and Elyse Koe. Hovanesian collected a team-high eight assists in the four matches while senior Carly Wickman had four.

Senior Niki Van Vugt and freshman Emma Pfister split time in front of the cage, starting two matches apiece. Pfister earned her first career win against Azusa Pacific, saving 11 shots. Van Vugt would tie a career high in saves with 14 to help CSUN top Cal Baptist. Pfister finished with 19 saves while Van Vugt registered 20.

Sanchez continues to make her move up the all-time Matador career scoring list. With her five goals to open the year, Sanchez surpassed Chari Christopher (2003-05) for fifth place on the scoring list with 180 career goals. Sanchez can move into fourth place, currently occupied by Whitney Delgado (2009-11), with 11 more goals. In Big West history, Sanchez is ninth all time in scoring. Allison Brookes holds the Matador career scoring record with 222 goals.

The Matadors have never faced Carthage College in women’s water polo but have met Cal State Monterey Bay six times, winning all six meetings. CSUN defeated the Otters 14-9 at last season’s Cal Lutheran invite. Fairchild netted four goals against the Otters last season while Sanchez scored three of her own. CSUN has scored 10 or more goals in each meeting against Cal State Monterey Bay.

Ranked No. 2 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association D-III rankings, Carthage College opened up its season back in November, splitting two matches at the Indiana Hoosier Showcase. At the event, Carthage fell to the University of Toronto (13-8) but defeated Lindenwood 11-8. Last season, the Lady Reds went 15-5 and finished third at the CWPA D-III Tournament. Freshman Gracie Dix led the way for the Lady Reds with six goals and six assists in the team’s first two matches.

Cal State Monterey Bay received votes in this week’s Collegiate Water Polo Association polls. The Otters opened up the 2018 season with a 13-7 loss to Santa Clara on Jan. 27. A season ago, the team finished 8-13 and in fourth place at the Western Water Polo Association Championships. In their only match, Angela Steele and Olivia Woolery scored two goals apiece. Shelby Stephens made the start against Santa Clara at goalkeeper and registered five saves. As a team, the Otters possess 13 underclassmen on their 19-player active roster.