March 16, 2003
SAN DIEGO - The sixth-ranked San Diego State women's water polo team capped a perfect day by scoring the first six goals of the game en route to a 10-4 win over No. 17 Princeton at the Ray and Joan Kroc Center. The Aztecs, who defeated Pacific by an identical 10-4 score in the morning, received three second-half goals from senior utility Casey Finnegan (Fresno, Calif./Clovis West HS) to hold off a third-quarter challenge from the Tigers.
The win is SDSU's eighth victory over a ranked team this season. At 11-6, SDSU matches the program's best record after 17 games since the 1996 team started 13-4. Princeton, which defeated Pacific 9-5 earlier in the day, falls to 7-3 on the season and 2-2 on its west coast trip.
The Aztecs pummeled Princeton with five straight goals by four different players in the first quarter. Senior utility Amber Prestegard (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison HS), who tallied four goals in the win over Pacific, added two more in the first five-plus minutes of this game.
Junior Holly Hartzell (Vista, Calif./Fallbrook HS) capped the Aztec run at 6-0 by scoring into an open goal when the Tigers keeper was ejected for fouling senior Heidi Matsumoto (Grover Beach, Calif./Arroyo Grande HS). The Princeton offense finally got going in the second quarter with two goals and pulled to within 6-3 on Annie Olson's score early in the third.
However, Finnegan responded to the Olson goal with a quick answer 16 seconds later and single-handedly turned back any Tigers threat. Finnegan, who has scored in all 15 games she's played this season and has 25 scores for the season, used her personal three-goal streak to extend the Aztec lead to a comfortable five-goal margin. Junior utility Chelsy Smith (Roseville, Calif./Sierra College) capped the scoring by converting an outside shot to make it 10-4.
Five players tallied one goal apiece for the Aztecs, and junior goalie Ashley Zabel (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch HS) picked up her second win of the weekend and made 13 saves for the Aztecs. Four different players (Kelly Melia-Teevan, Adele McCarthy-Beauvais, Julie Miller and Olson) scored for Princeton, while goalie Madeline McCarthy was credited with seven saves.
The six-game, nine-day homestand for SDSU continues tomorrow at 3 p.m. against eastern opponent No. 13 Indiana at the Ray and Joan Kroc Center.
March 16, 2003 - No. 6 SAN DIEGO STATE 10, No. 17 Princeton 4Ray and Joan Kroc Center, San Diego, Calif. 1 2 3 4 TotalPrinceton 0 2 2 0 4SDSU 5 1 2 2 10
Princeton Goals: McCarthy-Beauvais, Melia-Teevan, Miller OlsonPrinceton Goalie Saves: McCarthy 7
SDSU Goals: Finnegan 3, Prestegard 2, Delgado, Hartzell, Matsumoto,Onweller, SmithSDSU Goalie Saves: Zabel 13