March 16, 2003
SAN DIEGO - Scoring the first four goals of the game and holding a seven-goal lead after three quarters, the San Diego State women's water polo team rolled to a 10-4 win over MPSF foe Pacific on a rainy morning at the Ray and Joan Kroc Center. The sixth-ranked Aztecs (10-6 overall/3-3 MPSF) received four goals and two assists from senior utility Amber Prestegard (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison HS), who moved into second place on SDSU's all-time goal-scoring list with 209 career scores.
The win gives the Aztecs three victories in their last four conference games after an 0-2 start. Pacific drops to 5-11 on the season and 0-5 in the MPSF.
SDSU received its usual scoring balance, as seven different players scored including four different Aztecs for the first four goals of the game. Senior utility Casey Finnegan (Fresno, Calif./Clovis West HS) got the Aztecs on the board at 4 minutes, 50 seconds in the first quarter with a lob over Pacific goalie Julie Ross. Prestegard followed with her first goal 90 seconds later and freshman utility Taylor Cranney (Fresno, Calif./Clovis West HS) gave SDSU a 3-0 lead after one quarter.
A goal by junior driver Sandy Onweller (Poway, Calif./Palomar College) capped the Aztecs' 4-0 run to start the game. Jessica Schroeder scored the first two of her three goals in the second quarter to bring the Tigers within 5-2. But SDSU spent the third period bombing away from the perimeter, converting three outside shots among its four unanswered goals in the third.
Meanwhile, junior goalkeeper Sara Daseler (Lodi, Calif./Hartwick) and an Aztec defense that registered 14 steals blanked the Tigers in the first and third quarters as SDSU ran up its big lead. Prestegard capped the Aztec scoring with another outside shot in the fourth quarter.
Behind Prestegard's four-goal effort, six other Aztecs each tallied one score. Finnegan added three assists and recorded a personal-high seven steals to give her a career total of 182 thefts, tying Sara Hanneman for second place on SDSU's career list. Daseler ended up with 10 saves.
Schroeder led the Tigers with three goals, while Kristin Cockerill scored one. Ross registered four saves.
SDSU's six-game, nine-day homestand continues at 5 p.m. at the Ray and Joan Kroc Center against No. 17 Princeton. Pacific and Princeton will square off in a battle of Tigers at 1 p.m.
March 16, 2003 - No. 6 SAN DIEGO STATE 10, Pacific 4Ray and Joan Kroc Center, San Diego, Calif. 1 2 3 4 TotalUOP 0 2 0 2 4SDSU 3 2 4 1 10
UOP Goals: Schroeder 3, CockerillUOP Goalie Saves: Ross 4, Sartori (1:46, 3rd) 0
SDSU Goals: Prestegard 4, Cranney, Delgado, Finnegan,Hartzell, Matsumoto, OnwellerSDSU Goalie Saves: Daseler 7