April 16, 2004
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State won its third consecutive Harper Cup matchup with UC San Diego, 9-4, on Friday night at UCSD's Canyonview pool. The Aztecs jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and held off a Triton comeback before pulling away in the third period. Holly Hartzell recorded a hat trick to lead the offense while Ashley Zabel was impressive in goal to lead the defensive attack. No. 5 SDSU improves to 20-6 on the season, the fourth straight year they have posted 20+ wins.
Hartzell got the Aztecs started with two quick goals and after Dominique Delgado scored two goals SDSU had a 4-1 lead with 4:53 left in the second quarter. The Tritons scored the next goal and had an extra man advantage but Zabel made a great save, which changed the momentum of the game as SDSU scored the next five goals to cruise to the victory.
Zabel finished with seven saves, prevented a four-meter attempt and a four-on-six opportunity, and made four steals for the Aztecs in the cage. Sandy Onweller also contribtued two scores and two assists to the SDSU offense while Savanah Kelley and Elana Cervantes posted the final two scores.
SDSU has won all three Harper Cup matchups with UCSD, which is named after former UCSD water polo coach Denny Harper. This is the second victory for SDSU over the Tritons this season and the seventh straight in the all-time series.
The Aztecs will play at the LBSU Tournament this weekend, with two games on Saturday and two games on Sunday.