April 25, 2005
WOODLAND, Calif. - San Diego State junior driver Rachel Serna has been named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Mikasa player of the week for the period ending April 24. The weekly award is the first of Serna's career and is the first time an Aztec has been honored this season.
The Coronado, Calif., native scored seven goals, on 4-of-8 shooting, in the team's final two regular season games to help the Aztecs secure the 10th seed in this week's MPSF Championships.
Against UC San Diego, in the fourth annual Harper Cup, Serna scored the game's first goal before adding two in the second quarter. Her pair of goals in the second stanza came during a 7-0 Aztec run that broke the game open. With its 9-4 victory, SDSU keeps the Harper Cup on Montezuma Mesa for another year.
In the regular season finale against Arizona State, the junior continued her hot shooting tallying four goals. Serna notched the game's first two goals when she scored on a six-on-five opportunity off a pass from Elana Cervantes. Less than a minute later, the junior fired a shot from six meters out to give the Aztecs a two-goal cushion. With less than two minutes to play in the opening period, Serna scored her third of the game on a four-meter penalty shot. Then with 2:01 remaining in the first half, Monica DeRosier drew a penalty and Serna scored at four meters to give the Aztecs a 6-4 lead. SDSU would later score five more goals throughout the game to win, 11-5, on Senior Day.
For the season, Serna has a team-leading 58 goals and her total ties her with UCLA's Kelly Rulon and Long Beach State's Cassie Azevedo for second in the conference. She currently ranks 11th in school history for goals in a season, trailing two-time U.S. Olympian Heather Moody by one goal for 10th in SDSU history.
The 10th-seeded Aztecs (14-16, 3-9 MPSF) are in action this Thursday when they take on No. 7 seed UC Santa Barbara at the MPSF Championships in Berkeley, Calif. The game is scheduled for a 1:45 p.m. start at Spieker Aquatics Complex.