George Washington University
Cal State East Bay
Women's Water Polo Heads to California
3/11/2019 4:46:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
Colonials set for three games vs. West Coast foes
George Washington women's water polo will spend spring break in California with three games over two days.
The Colonials begin the trip Wednesday at Cal State East Bay before taking on No. 13 Fresno State later in the day. They'll wrap up their West Coast stay Thursday with a matchup vs. Fresno Pacific
LAST TIME OUT:Â GW (3-4) dropped its CWPA opener last Saturday at No. 15 Princeton. The Colonials were within a goal late in the first half before the Tigers pulled away for a 14-8 victory.
Jaleh Moaddeli and Kira Bruno scored two goals apiece, while Alana Ponce added a goal, an assist and three ejections drawn.
AWESOME ADDITION:Â Juliette Belanger joined GW for the spring semester and has made an immediate impact.
The first-year from Ottawa, Canada has scored in all seven games so far and ranks third among Colonials in goals (13). She leads the Buff and Blue in ejections drawn (10) and has converted 44.8 percent of her shots, good for third on the squad.
Belanger brought international experience to Foggy Bottom after representing her native Canada last September at the FINA World Women's Youth Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
HAPPY HOMECOMING:Â GW's roster features eight California natives: Moaddeli (Newport Beach), Bruno (La Jolla), Hannah Hathaway (San Jose), Hayden Carlson (South Pasadena), Megan Tomasi (San Diego), Ally Jochim (Laguna Beach), Katherine Atherton (Los Altos) and Samantha Runyon (San Diego).
SCOUTING CAL STATE EAST BAY:Â The Pioneers (8-6) knocked off rival Cal State Monterey Bay, 14-9, last Saturday for their fifth win in seven games.Â
GW and Cal State East Bay have split a pair of previous meetings with the most recent matchup coming in 2011.
SCOUTING FRESNO STATE:Â The 13th-ranked Bulldogs are 7-9, but all of their losses have come against nationally-ranked foes. They recently picked up victories over then-No. 15 Long Beach State and then-No. 21 Marist at the Michigan Invitational.
This will be GW's first ever matchup vs. Fresno State.
SCOUTING FRESNO PACIFIC:Â Four losses at San Diego State's Aztec Invitational last weekend dropped the Sunbirds to 3-17.
Last season, GW beat Fresno Pacific as part of its West Coast trip, earning a 12-10 victory behind a hat trick from Jaqueline Bywater.
UP NEXT:Â GW has the next two weekends off before hosting three games at the Smith Center at the end of the month. The Colonials are set for a doubleheader vs. Bucknell and Harvard on March 30 before facing St. Francis (Pa.) the following day.
