THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The No. 2 California Lutheran women's water polo team got a huge win as the Regals knocked off Division I opponent St. Francis 7-6 Thursday at the Samuelson Aquatics Center.
The win was head coach Craig Rond's 200th victory with the Regals. It was the first Division I team CLU has beat this season. The Regals have also defeated two Division II teams.
Cal Lutheran improved to 9-4 on year. The St. Francis Red Flash are now 10-4. The Regals are the first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) team to beat St. Francis. The Red Flash have also played Whittier, Occidental, Chapman and Caltech.
Nikki Roed led the Regals with four goals on six shots. Christin Hirn, Kristi McGee and Victoria Rose Meek each added one more. The Regals moved the ball around very well as Nicole Guerriero, McGee, Megan Seeman and Hirn all had one assist.
The defense was a big part of the game. Cal Lutheran goalkeeper Bailey Meyer tallied five saves. Seeman had three steals. Hirn and Roed both chipped in with two.
Meek led the Violet and Gold with a game-high five drawn ejections.
The Regals had a 2-1 lead after the first period. The scoring went back and forth and each team scored one goal in the second and third quarters. Cal Lutheran had a 4-3 lead going into the fourth quarter.
St. Francis tied the game up at 4 with seven minutes left in the game. Roed put CLU up not even a minute later, and the SFU answered 40 seconds later. Roed added another goal to give the Regals back the lead. Hirn put the finishing touches on the game as she scored her goal with 2:08 left. The Red Flash scored one more goal as the Regals held on and won 7-6.
Cal Lutheran jumps back in SCIAC action and welcomes La Verne to the Samuelson Aquatics Center Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Results: CLU 7, SFU 6
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
