“We got a lot of people some playing time. Some newbies, some freshmen got a chance to get out there and get up and down,” said Head Coach of women’s water polo Craig Rond after the Regals finished up their matches Feb. 3. The Regals fell 13-5 to California State University Northridge and 12-5 to California State University Monterey Bay, but not without a few positives.

Halfway into the first game, the Regals only saw themselves trailing by four goals coming from junior center Sam Wulfestieg, sophomore utility Nicole Roed and two from sophomore utility Megan Seeman.

The Matadors were not looking to give the Regals any time for a comeback as they scored four goals in the third quarter to create some cushion between the two teams. Wulfestieg was able to add a consolation goal in the third, which brought the score to 12-5 in favor of the Matadors.

Good defensive play by the Regals in the fourth would only allow the Matadors to add one more to the scoresheet, bringing the game to an end with a score of 13-5 in favor of the Matadors.

Coming into the second game of the day against CSU Monterey Bay the Regals were looking to work on their offense, senior captain and center defender Logan Young said.

“We were forcing a lot of passes and we just needed to stick to our plan and spread out and be more patient, make safe water passes,” Young said.

The Otters were able to jump out to an early 3-0 lead in the first quarter and didn’t look back from then on. The Regals were able to battle back and score three goals of their own, but the Otters were also able to add three more to their tally bringing the score to 6-3 at halftime.

The Otters were able to tack on four goals in the third and put the game all but out of reach, as the score at the end of game three was 11-4 in favor of the Otters. The Regals were able to add one more in the fourth at the hands of junior center-defender Kristi McGee in a game that ultimately ended 12-5 to the Otters.

“I thought we fell off the scheme of what we wanted to do in that second game… we got to be better for four quarters,” Rond said.

Freshmen attacker Christin Hirn, center Victoria Rose Meek and attacker Mackenzie Thomas all made their debuts for the Regals, comprising three of the nine freshmen that fill the Regals roster.

Senior captain and attacker KC Brendel spoke about the challenges of having such a young team.

“Since this was our first game it was nice to finally play against someone that wasn’t each other, so we know how each other works more,” Brendel said.

The Regals’ next matchup will be in two weeks time when they play Loyola Marymount University Feb. 17 at 3:30 p.m.

“It’s just kind of trying to figure out what’s best for each player… overall I think it will work out really well,” Young said.

Gabriel Naudin
Staff Writer