Welcome to the big leagues, Roadrunners.
The Cal women’s water polo team is heading to Bakersfield, Calif., this weekend to take on CSU Bakersfield, in the Bears’ final away game of the season. The Roadrunners (12-20, 0-4) are new to the MPSF this season and fresh off of four losses to the top-four MPSF teams.
The No. 5 Bears are looking to round out the top five with a win over the Roadrunners this Saturday at the Hillman Aquatics Complex at 1 p.m.
The Bears are choosing to view this game as another warm-up before the highly anticipated battle of the Bay next weekend, where Cal and Stanford will clash for the last game of the season before the MPSF tournament.
“Bakersfield isn’t as good as some of the other teams in the conference,” said sophomore Savanna Smith. “We can use it as a training match where we’re working on what we need to work on while still competing really hard against a team that’s still decent but not as good.”
Smith, the Bears’ starting goalie, has 103 saves on the season. While these saves are obviously important, Smith’s mental toughness is the center of her game.
“With any goalie position, it’s a mental game,” she said. “You’re by yourself for a lot of the time, and you have to try to ignore when goals get scored and try to refocus and recenter yourself towards blocking the next shot. I’m the last line of defense.”
Cal’s defense has certainly been effective, with the Bears winning their last three games easily. But this winning streak is also due in part to the lack of competitiveness of the past couple of weeks.
The Bears’ biggest challenge comes in the form of focus — specifically, staying focused during these games against teams that are not quite on the same level of play.
“Right now, our goal is not even winning but playing a whole game altogether as a team,” said sophomore Tiera Schroeder. “So I think this game will be really good practice for Stanford and leading into MPSF as well.”
The team will also be focused on helping senior Emily Csikos reach her goal: beating the all-time scoring record.
Csikos has 212 goals in her career, having tied the all-time record last weekend with a goal against Loyola Marymount. The last time this record was mentioned was when Colette Glinkowski set it — in 1999.
A win against the Roadrunners will not help the Bears move up from their No. 5 spot, but it will provide momentum for their upcoming Stanford match.
“Cal never has a problem getting pumped up to play Stanford, so I’m not really worried about our energy level — I’m more scared that we’re too excited,” Csikos said.
But before the battle of the Bay, the Bears hope to extend their winning streak to four games with a win over the Roadrunners and maybe even record a new all-time scorer in the books.
Alicia Fong covers women’s water polo. Contact her at [email protected].