CSUSB water polo comes up short

By Devan Lee |Staff Writer|

Coyote women’s water polo fell short again losing to both Pomona-Pitzer (10-15) and University of La Verne (11-19) on Sat. April 6.

On Saturday morning, the Coyotes prepared for a non-conference match up against the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens.

It was senior day, which marked the end of careers for seniors Georgina Bray, Heather Bertram, Sierra Deforge and Misty Vu as well as the final home match of the 2012-2013 season.

The first half of the match appeared to be in favor of the Sagehens as they took the lead in the first and second quarters of playing time.

By the second half of the match, the Coyotes were neck and neck with their opponents. Both teams managed to score an even five goals in the third period and three goals in the fourth.

Furthermore, junior driver Alison Glaser played an important role for the Coyotes offense by scoring six goals out of her eight attempts throughout the match, averaging 75 percent of shooting.

Senior utility player and All-American Vu and senior driver Bray also contributed to the Coyote attack scoring a total of three goals.

Unfortunately, the Lady Yotes failed to outscore their opponents, ending the match with a final score of 13 to 15.

Later that afternoon, the Yotes would go onto face University of LaVerne in a Western Water Polo Association match at Loyola Marymount.

The opposing team seemed to be evenly matched with the Yotes. Ultimately, the deciding factor between the two teams would not come from their attack, but from their defense.

Sophomore goalkeeper Madison Morris and junior goalkeeper Kelsey Purkiss had a combined six saves when the final whistle blew.

Despite the Coyote’s impressive defensive performance, the Leopards were able to maintain their lead by one goal.

One of these goals in particular was scored by Leopards sophomore driver Maddie Lovrenski at the 1:40 minute mark in the third quarter of play.

Needless to say, despite the efforts from Purkiss and Morris, that goal gave enough edge for the Leopards to come away with a victory.

With the end of the season approaching, CSUSB women’s water polo carries an overall record of six wins and 23 losses.

According to head coach Sarah Reneker, she believes that at this point with only a handful of games left, intensity is the key to pulling out victories in the remainder of the season.

“I really try to preach to the girls that maintaining a high level of intensity while staying mentally focused is what will win us games,” said Reneker.

Reneker also believes that if the team can keep a high level of integrity that she feels is necessary to win, the team could win potentially win the rest of their games this season.

“You know, throughout the season we really haven’t been too far behind in a match. I can honestly say that as far as the teams we have played we match up pretty evenly, we just need to step up the intensity,” said Reneker.

CSUSB will go on to play in the CCAA tournament against UC San Diego in La Jolla on April 19.