Mataro and Sabadell both strike twenty

January 14, 2023

Clara Cambray of Mataro

There were big victories for the top teams in the Spanish women’s water polo league today.

Matchday 11 saw Sabadell put twenty past Barceloneta, while Mataro surpassed that tally, putting twenty-five goals past Sant Feliu (25-10).

Mediterrani beat Tenerife Echeyde 14-7, while Rubi secured an important home victory over Boadilla (13-9).

With Terrassa away competing in the Euro Cup, their fixture with Zaragoza was rearranged to the 25th of January. Sant Andreu and Catalunya are both also resting today, ahead of the clash on Thursday.

Sabadell, who are so far undefeated in league play, are three points clear at the top of the league.

CNAB Zodiac 4-20 Astralpool Sabadell (2-6, 0-5, 1-3, 1-6)

CNAB: A. Colomina, P. Rodriguez, N. Martin, C. Buscarons 1, N. Josifovic, J. Cereijo 1, U. Del sol Agusti, N. Mandic, D. Rodriguez, R. Tarrago 2, M. Madre, B. Colominas

Sabadell: L. Ester, M. Ortiz 1, P. Leiton 4, S. Van der Sloot 1, M. Serrano 2, I. Casado 1 E. Ruiz 1, M. Garcia 4, J. Forca 1, B. Ortiz 3, N. Perez 1, I. Gonzalez 1, M. Carrasco

League leaders Sabadell kicked off their year with a dominant 20-4 victory at Barceloneta.

While every outfield player found the back of the net at least once, it was the reigning champions’ two centre-forwards, Paula Leiton and Maica Garcia, who did the most damage today, with a quadruple of strikes each.

Garcia leaped into the swing of things with a quick start, finding three scores in the opening quarter. The game was already over by half-time though, with 18-year-old Marina Serrano’s brace being the highlight of a 5-0 second period shut-out by the Spanish champions.

The second half saw more of the same, with Bea Ortiz finding her third score, before Paula Leiton reached four, 0:53 seconds from time.

That’s now eleven straight wins in the Spanish league for Sabadell, who will look to make it twelve on their trip to the capital against Boadilla next weekend.

CN Sant Feliu 10 – 25 CN Mataro (3-8, 2-5, 2-6, 3-6)

Feliu: N. Trojan 1, J. Soler, M. Bargallo, A. Temprano 1, B. Ghost 2, L. Rocha 2, L. Fernandez, M. Manchego, I. Almeda 1, J. Panicello 3, N. Vidondo, J. Figueroa, P. Carilla

Mataro: M. Sanchez, S. Morell 1, S. Van de Kraats 4, A. Gual 2, V. Sevenich 2, R. Keszthelyi 6, C. Cambray 2, C. Nogue 1, S. Avegno 4, Q. Bertran 2, R. Gurri, M. Claveria Murillo, E. Herrera

New year, same old Mataro; they annihilated Sant Feliu in an offensive onslaught and triumphed 25-10.

It certainly was not a defensive masterclass from either side today, but Mataro will be grateful for the two points.

Mataro found themselves 6-1 up midway through the first quarter, with it not taking more than five minutes for Rita Keszthelyi to find the first half of the six goals she nabbed in the match.

A brace for the Setterosa’s Silvia Avegno and a back to back penalty conversion from Simone van de Kraats kept Mataro’s feet on the pedal as the second placed team in the league led 13-5 at half-time.

As the goals began to flood past Natasha Trojan in the third, she thought she had conjured up something to be cheerful about, with a goal three seconds from the end of the period. Unfortunately for the Croatian keeper, her celebrations were short-lived, as Van de Kraats had time to find her fourth goal on the buzzer.

Feliu’s summer signing from Terrassa, Judith Panicello, landed a late brace in the fourth, but three goals in the late minute from Keszthelyi, Bertran, and Nogue gave Dani Ballart’s team a 15-goal victory.

CE Mediterrani 14 – 7 Tenerife Echeyde (4-1, 4-3, 2-1, 4-2)

Mediterrani: I. Costa, A. Munoz 1, A. Crevier 1, A. Marcos 2, V. Bakoc, C. Rodriguez, C. Espar 3, D. Moreno 3, M. Viladot, H.Dalmases 2, P. Crespi 2, S. Lizotte, G. Palm

Echeyde: J. Gaudreault, J. Bennasar 1, C. Rios 1, B. McDowell, E. Dominguez, J. Rodriguez, E. Pirat, J. Alvarez, M. Ramos 1, E. Alcon, E. Nicholson 2, A. Sanchez, F. Perez Paez

Mediterrani followed up their important victory over Terrassa at the end of last year with a deserved 14-7 victory over Echeyde.

Marian Diaz’s team controlled from the start, and for the time being, they are up to fourth place in the league.

At Josep Valles, Medi led 3-0 in the first, but the visitors from Gran Canaria came back hard through the back end of the second half to pull within a single score (5-4).

However, three unanswered scores from the side in Green and Blue (Munoz, Crespi and Dalmases) put them at double the number of scores of their opponents at the half-time break (8-4).

And that is ultimately how the game ended, with Mediterrani outscoring their opponents two to one. Echeyde were simply unable to find an answer to their opponents’ attacking penetration.

Clara Espar (3), Daniela Moreno (3), Ana Marcos (2), Helena Dalmases (2) and Paula Crespi (2) were Mediterrani’s multi-scorers.

Tenerife has a big game next week in the context of their hopes of finishing in the top-half of the league. They meet Catalunya, who are currently a single point, and a game behind them.

CN Rubi 13 – 9 CD Boadilla (3-1, 3-2, 3-0, 4-6)

Rubi: E. Jimenez, A. Roldan 1, C. Penalver 2, C. Abellan, M. Ungria 1, A. Rodriguez, L. Rion 1, C. Moreno 4, R. Prieto 1, J. Prados, E. Vesperinas 1, A. Trivino 2, M. Sampaio

Boadilla: C. Palacios, A. Wu, L. Alvarez 2, J. Rovira, L. Campos, M. Peragon, E. Castellanos 2, M. De Quinta 1, E. Prieto, L. Kocsis 4, A. Gonzalez, G. Gallinato, P. Quinones

Rubi beat Boadilla 13-9 at Can Roses despite a late rally by the visitors.

The hosts were the better side from the start, but the momentum in the game shifted with the wind; Rubi were pegged back from 4-1 up to 4-3, but went on to drill home the next five strikes to lead 9-3 at half-time.

A hat-trick in the last quarter from Hungarian and former UVSE player, Laura Kocsis looked to rejuvenate the side from East Madrid, but the top scorer in the game for Rubi, Claudia Moreno, had the final say, adding her fourth goal with half a minute from time.

With their third win of the season, Rubi stays ahead of Boadilla, and is up to 9th.