Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
California
Women’s Water Polo Hosts No. 4 California For A Midweek Match; Travels to CSUN Saturday
3/24/2026 9:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
The Beach will face both opponents for the first time this season.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Starting the week with a five-game winning streak, No. 8 Long Beach State will host No. 4 California for a midweek matchup on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center before hitting the road to face CSUN on Saturday for conference play.
Long Beach State (13-9, 4-1) comes off a dominating win over Cal State Fullerton in conference play, 22-3. The Beach shut down the Titans for over 20 minutes to cruise to another Big West win. Leading LBSU on the day were Elisa Portillo and Lucy Miszewski, adding four goals each, leading all ten Beach scorers. On defense, Polina Synytsia and Charlotte Echlin combined for 10 saves.
Portillo leads the team this season across three different categories, with 56 goals, 41 assists and 26 steals. Miszewski is having her best season in her collegiate career and follows behind Portillo in all statistics as well, with 52 goals, 30 assists and 24 steals. Junior Chiara Amoroso has also been a key player for the Beach with 44 goals, 16 assists and 16 steals. On defense, freshman phenom Polina Synytsia has recorded 152 saves, 12 steals and five assists in her first season for the Beach.
California (12-3, 3-1 MPSF) is having a consistent season, never falling out of the top five in the CWPA polls. The Golden Bears hosted No. 12 Indiana this past weekend, celebrating their seniors with a 19-7 win. Maria Bogachenko and Julia Bonaguidi both scored a team-high four goals in the win while goalkeeper Talia Fonseca added seven saves.
With four players scoring over 30 goals in the season, Cal has a balanced attack, with Despoina Draktou and Bonaguidi leading the offense with 36 and 35 goals, respectively. Draktou also leads the team in assists and steals, with 23 and 21, respectively. Fonseca has recorded 105 saves in the season, averaging 7.4 per game.
The second opponent of the week will be CSUN (17-5, 2-1 Big West) for Big West play on Saturday at Noon. The Matadors were set to face Hawai'i this past weekend, but due to climate conditions on the island, the match was postponed. CSUN will face No. 9 UC Irvine before facing the Beach on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Mira Dravucz leads the Matadors with 58 goals and 26 assists while Sofia Martinez adds a team-high 33 steals. Erika Staine anchors CSUN on defense with 136 saves, 21 steals and five assists.
First sprint is scheduled for 4 p.m. against Cal with live stats provided through TheFOSH.net.
