Wahine ready for CSUN

Cal State Northridge had another five seconds to hurt the Rainbow Wahine water polo team at the buzzer again.

But unlike the March 7 meeting in which CSUN called a timeout with five seconds left, and then scored as time expired to win, Hawaii was ready this time.

Goalkeeper Sarah Logan stopped a shot with a second remaining, and Hawaii beat CSUN 6-5 in Saturday’s semifinal of the Big West championship at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.

“It could’ve been a goal, but definitely Sarah blocked it,” said Paula Chillida Esforzado, who scored Hawaii’s winning goal with five minutes left. “We’re really happy for her.”

Hawaii (17-8) will face top-seeded UC Irvine (19-7), the defending champion, in Sunday’s 6 p.m. championship. The winner receives a berth to the NCAA tournament. The Anteaters beat No. 5 UC Davis (19-13) 8-6 in the other semifinal.

“It’s our home, our pool, we’re ready for it,” Chillida Esforzado said.

No. 2 Cal State Northridge (14-11) had a shot stopped by Logan with 42 seconds remaining, but got the ball back with five seconds and called a timeout. CSUN ran the same play from March 7, with its players lined up straight in front of the goal. The ball went outside to Marisa Young and her shot was stopped by Logan.

“With that much time, it’s tough for the referees because there’s a ton of grabbing and they let a lot of stuff go,” Hawaii coach Maureen Cole said. “You just got to stay with your player and try not to let them get their hand on the ball.”

Chillida Esforzado said her team studied video from that loss to CSUN.

“It was really tough for us losing at the last second, but we watched video and then we learned what they were doing, how they got open and learned from our mistakes,” Chillida Esforzado said.

CSUN coach Marty Matthies said the final play was what he wanted, except the Matadors couldn’t score to force overtime.

“We got the look that we wanted, the ball in our superstar’s hand and I couldn’t ask for something better,” Matthies said.

Logan started in goal for Ymane Hage, who started Friday’s first-round match and left with a shoulder injury. While she came off the bench Friday, Logan has played in more matches than Hage this season.

“Our goalie came up with a huge save in the last couple of possessions,” Cole said.

Chillida Esforzado’s goal on a power play gave the Rainbow Wahine a 6-5 lead with five minutes left in the match. She led Hawaii with four goals and Claire Nixon had two. Kelcy Barott had two goals for CSUN.

“We lost sight of her too much,” Matthies said of Chillida Esforzado.

The Anteaters have won every Big West title since the tournament began in 2009 except for 2013, when the Rainbow Wahine won.