Feb. 8, 2004
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State won the matchup of No. 5 teams in the country earning a 10-9 overtime victory over Loyola Marmount in its first game on Sunday at the UCSD Invitational. The Aztecs advanced to the championship game against No. 4 Long Beach State, but did not have enough for the upset as they were defeated 8-3. SDSU finished the season opening tournament 3-1 after earning two wins on Saturday.
SDSU and LMU entered the week tied for fifth in the American Water Polo Coaches poll and the game lived up to the billing. The Aztecs scored the only goal in the second half of overtime to pull out a 10-9 victory. LMU jumped out to a quick lead and held on to a 7-6 advantage at halftime and an 8-7 lead after three periods. The Aztecs used a 2-1 final period to force an extra session at 9-9. Holly Hartzell and Chelsy Smith led the SDSU offense with three goals apiece, while Rachel Serna added two scores. Sandy Onweller and Savanah Kelley also scored for SDSU, while Dominique Delgado and Elana Cervantes both recorded three assists. Ashley Zabel played the entire game in goal and made nine saves.
In the second game of the day, No. 4 Long Beach State jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead just 2:09 into the game and the Aztecs never recovered. After falling behind 6-1 after two periods, SDSU finished the second half even with LBSU, but could never get within striking distance. Cervantes scored two goals and Rachel Serna added the final score for SDSU. Freshman Sarah Kilgore played goalkeeper for the final quarter and a half and allowed only one goal while making four saves.
SDSU is 3-1 on the year and will play at UC Irvine on Thursday (Feb. 12) at 4 pm.