March 29, 2003
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Junior 2-meter Holly Hartzell (Vista, Calif./Fallbrook HS) scored a game-high four goals as the sixth-ranked San Diego State women's water polo continued its mastery of lower-ranked teams this season with a 6-3 win over No. 11 UC Santa Barbara at Campus Pool.
The Aztecs (14-8 overall/4-5 MPSF) bounced back from a 10-2 defeat yesterday at No. 1 UCLA by improving to 12-0 against lower-ranked or unranked foes this year. The win snapped a two-game conference losing skid for SDSU, which entered the weekend standing sixth in the nation's premier water polo conference, the MPSF. No. 11 UC Santa Barbara (13-9/1-4 MPSF) saw its six-game win streak snapped.
With the score tied at 1-1 after the first quarter, UCSB senior Teresa Gorbett gave the Gauchos a 2-1 lead a little over two minutes into the second period. UCSB's lead was short-lived, however, as the Aztecs responded with three straight goals in a two-minute span. Three different players - senior driver Heidi Matsumoto (Grover Beach, Calif./Arroyo Grande HS), senior utility Amber Prestegard (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison HS) and Hartzell - scored for SDSU in the game-breaking run.
Junior goalie Ashley Zabel (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch HS) kept the momentum going for the Aztecs by blocking a two-meter penalty shot by Gorbett for one of her five saves on the day. SDSU took a 4-2 lead into halftime.
The Aztec scoring run reached five straight goals thanks to Hartzell scores in the third and fourth quarters. Meanwhile, SDSU's defense held up and limited the Gauchos to only one goal in the second half - a score by Nicola Bishop with one second remaining in the game.
With her hat trick plus one on the day, Hartzell's team-leading goal total has reached 45 for the season. For Zabel, the three goals allowed on the day were her fewest scores yielded in a full game this season.
SDSU enjoys spring break with a trip to MPSF rival No. 8 Hawai'i on April 4.
March 29, 2003 - No. 6 SAN DIEGO STATE 6, No. 11 UC Santa Barbara 3Campus Pool, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Team 1 2 3 4 FinalSDSU 1 3 1 1 6UCSB 1 1 0 1 3
SDSU Goals: Hartzell 4, Matsumoto, PrestegardSDSU Goalie Saves: Zabel 5
UCSB Goals: Kunkel, Gorbett, BishopUCSB Goalie Saves: McGlennon 4