March 13, 2005
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State closed out its longest homestand of the season by losing to No. 17 Cal State Northridge, 10-9, in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game, and defeating 16th-ranked Princeton, 10-7. With the split, the Aztecs' record is now 9-9 overall and 2-5 in the MPSF play.
Sunday morning, SDSU opened the game taking an early 4-2 lead after one quarter. Senior Dominique Delgado recorded two goals, while sophomore Stacy Werner and freshman Becca Ur added one apiece.
The following period, Cal State Northridge cut the lead to one thanks to a Kristen Franz goal. The Aztecs came back with two of their own when sophomore Elana Cervantes and senior Monica DeRosier found the back of the net. CSUN's Chari Christopher closed the quarter with a goal to cut SDSU's advantage to 6-4.
The third quarter is where the momentum swung Cal State Northridge's way. The Matadors' Ashley Hayes scored the first goal of the stanza, but SDSU juniors Rachel Serna and Savanah Kelley responded with goals of their own to increase the Aztecs' lead to 8-5.
At the end of the third, Cal State Northridge scored three in the final 2:08 and the first two of the fourth quarter to take its first lead of the game. After five unanswered goals, Werner fired one past CSUN goalkeeper Graziela Caredda to make the game 10-9, with 2:30 remaining.
The game was back-and-forth the rest of the way, until CSUN called a timeout with 32 seconds left. As the Matadors were trying to run the clock out, Kelley made a steal with 18 seconds left and the Aztecs called time. Unfortunately, SDSU could not get a shot off after regrouping and lost the contest, 10-9.
SDSU goalkeeper Sarah Kilgore stopped 10 shots, while her counterpart, Caredda, made a game-high 12.
Against Princeton, the Aztecs struck first when Werner and Cervantes scored a goal apiece in the first 3:30 of the game to take a 2-0 lead. Princeton's Elyse Colgan added a goal of her own to give SDSU a 2-1 lead after one.
In the second quarter, each team traded goals. The Tigers' Danielle Carlson scored a minute and a half into the period and was followed by SDSU junior Cia Cobb's third goal of the season. Half a minute later, Colgan scored her second of the game and the Aztecs came back with a DeRosier goal.
After sophomore Ashley McCullum scored to give the Aztecs a 5-3 lead, San Diego State broke the game open in the third quarter, taking advantage of a pair of six-on-five possessions. Delgado scored on the first opportunity and sophomore Ashley Reta followed suit a minute later. Junior Cassie Zebisch chipped in with her fifth of the season with 36 seconds left on the clock to give SDSU a four-goal buffer heading into the final quarter.
Princeton scored the first goal of the fourth quarter but Serna and Cervantes sandwiched their goals between the Tigers' first and third goals of the period to put the game out of reach.
The 11th-ranked Aztecs will be in action March 20, when they face Long Beach State on the road. Game time is slated for a noon start.
#17 CSUN 2-2-4-2---10#11 SDSU 4-2-2-1---9
CSUN Goals: Chari Christopher - 4, Erica Bonetti - 2, Kristen Franz- 2, Ashley Hays, Lynzy Klein
SDSU Goals: Dominique Delgado - 2, Stacy Werner - 2, Elana Cervantes, Monica DeRosier, Savanah Kelley, Rachel Serna, Becca Ur
CSUN Goalie Saves: Graziela Caredda - 12
SDSU Goalie Saves: Sarah Kilgore - 10
#16 Princeton 1-2-1-3---7#11 SDSU 2-2-4-2--10
Princeton Goals: Danielle Carlson - 4, Elyse Colgan - 2, Courtney Mee
SDSU Goals: Elana Cervantes - 2, Cia Cobb, Dominique Delgado, Monica DeRosier, Ashley McCullum, Ashley Reta, Rachel Serna, Stacy Werner, Cassie Zebisch
Princeton Goalie Saves: Natalie Kim - 2, Madeline McCarthy - 0
SDSU Goalie Saves: Sarah Kilgore - 4