It happened with 32 seconds left.
This past weekend was filled with more suspense than usual for the No. 5 Cal women’s water polo team, and it was not because of the double-header they faced. They defeated San Jose State on Saturday, 11-8, and Loyola Marymount University on Sunday with a score of 12-4.
It’s because of Emily Csikos.
Csikos tied Cal’s all-time scoring record with 32 seconds left in the game on Sunday. Before this past weekend’s games, Csikos was only two shy away from the record with 210 goals in her career. She is now tied at 212 goals with All-American Colette Glinkowski, who set the record in 1999. The record has remained untouched until today.
Csikos has 45 goals for the season, also making her the Bears’ leading scorer and MPSF’s third highest, averaging 2.39 goals per game.
“It’s pretty cool, I don’t think I’ve grasped how big it actually is. It really hasn’t hit me yet,” Csikos said.
This humbling attitude is evident in Csiko’s style of play, where she often looks for the best shot rather than looking for her own shot.
“I was hoping to break it this game but we tried and it just didn’t happen today,” Csikos said. I just knew I had one more so I was going for two and it didn’t happen, which is fine. My team totally helped me.”
Csikos is referring to the plethora of scorers for the Bears on Sunday, with seven different players putting points on the board to help defeat the visiting Lions.
The Lions definitely did not make it easy for Csikos, isolating her on the offensive end throughout the game. This more aggressive style of play included swimsuit grabbing, dunking and just plain holding and pulling.
“It’s harder because you don’t feel as much like you’re playing a water polo game,” Csikos said of the physicality of this particular game. “It’s kind of a wrestling match.”
Csikos was not the only one the Lions aggressively guarded, as senior center Dana Ochsner received her share of swimsuit pulling and grabbing from behind.
“You’re not going to get every call. I might have my moment under water to get my frustration out, but you just gotta go because you have a team depending on you and you can’t really let it get to you,” center Dana Ochsner said.
These wins will not help the Bears move from their No. 5 spot. But these games do serve as good warmups for the team, as Cal has to face No. 2 Stanford after playing No. 10 San Jose State University and No. 11 Loyola Marymount University.
“I think that its gonna be a little difficult to just grasp the different levels of play, but at the same time this has allowed us to work on a lot of things we really needed to, and has given us the opportunity to really compose ourselves as a group,” Csikos said.
The win over the Lions on Sunday gives the Bears their third consecutive win as Csikos looks to take over the all-time record next weekend against California State University, Bakersfield.
After next week’s matchup against the Roadrunners, Cal ends the regular season against Stanford. After that, the Bears will host the MPSF Championships with a berth in the NCAA Tournament at stake.
Alicia Fong covers women’s water polo. Contact her at [email protected]