March 28, 2006
SAN DIEGO -
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Aztecs Put School-Record Nine-Match Winning Streak on the Line Against California and USC
San Diego State (18-5; 4-2 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation), winners of a school-record nine straight, return to The Salvation Army Kroc Center to host a pair of MPSF contests this week. The Aztecs will entertain California, Thursday, March 30, at 3 p.m. PST. and then welcome Southern California on Saturday, April 1, beginning at noon. The two league games will be the first of five consecutive for SDSU after playing just one in its previous nine outings.
The Aztecs, who have not experienced defeat since March 12, are coming off a weekend where they scored 83 goals (13.8 gpg) while allowing their opponents a mere 20 (3.3 gpg). Sandwiched in between those games was San Diego State's second shutout of the season as it blanked Colorado State, 16-0, at the LMU Invitational.
Following this week's matches, the Aztecs will continue their league slate with games scheduled for April 8-9 at Stanford and San Jose State, respectively.
A Look at the Homestand: California and USC
California comes into the San Diego State match with a 9-7 (3-2 MPSF) record and national ranking of No. 6. The Golden Bears are led by Elsie Windes, who ranks 14th in the conference in goals per game at 1.63. Before heading to "America's Finest City", the Bears will travel to Arizona State for a league match on March 28.
USC, the top-ranked team in the country, is undefeated this season having won 18 straight. After posting a 13-7 win over the Sun Devils in Tempe on March 26, the Women of Troy will make a stop in Irvine to play UCI on March 31 and then travel further south for their match with SDSU. Brittany Hayes leads USC with 35 goals (2.06 gpg) followed by Moriah Van Norman's 29. Southern California is the conference leader in goals per game scoring an average of 12.1 per contest.
School-Record Nine-Match Winning Streak
SDSU is currently on a school-record nine-match winning streak, eclipsing the old mark of seven as a result of its wins on March 26 against UC Irvine and Maryland. The old mark of seven last occurrred in 2004 with that squad finishing with the best record under head coach Carin Crawford at 26-9. The 1995 team also won seven straight and ended the year ranked second nationally with a mark of 24-8.
More Donuts
The Aztecs became the first team in school history to record two shutouts in a season when it defeated Colorado State, 16-0, on March 24. The blanking came less than week after San Diego State defeated 15th-ranked Michigan on March 19, 13-0, and is the fourth shutout in school history. With their performance against the Wolverines, the Aztecs became just the third team in school history to shutout an opponent and the first since the 2002 team blanked Redlands, 5-0.
SDSU's first-ever shutout came against UC Santa Barbara, 15-0, on Feb. 28, 1998, in the UCSB Tournament. In the previous two seasons in which SDSU held an opponent scoreless, the Aztecs posted at least 20 wins with the 1998 squad posting 23 victories and the 2002 team recording 20.
Schuster's Coming Out Party
In the Aztecs' six games this past weekend (March 24-26), freshman Jenna Schuster played tremendous water polo as she scored an incredible 13 goals on 16 shots (81.3 percent). In four of the six games, the Upland, Calif., native connected on every one of her shot attempts. For the season, she has 21 goals on 44 attempts and is tied with Ashling Taylor for the team lead among freshman goal scorers.
20-Goal Games
When SDSU put up 20 goals against CS Monterey Bay, it represented the second 20-goal game of the year for the Aztecs. It is just the third time in school history that an SDSU team has recorded two 20-plus goal games in a single season joining the 1995 and 1996 squads. As mentioned before, the 1995 team notched 24 victories, while the 1996 version of the Aztecs won on 27 different occasions and finished third nationally.
Blowing Past 2005
Through 23 games this season and a record of 18-5 (4-2 MPSF), the Aztecs have already eclipsed 2005's overall and league win totals of 16 and three, respectively. San Diego State is also 34 goals shy of matching last year's goal total of 268 and has already tallied 59 goals in the first quarter after scoring only 57 all of last season.
Offensive Firepower
San Diego State has shown the ability to score goals bunches this season having scored at least 10 goals in each of its last nine games. For the season, the Aztecs have reached the double-figure plateau 12 times after posting only nine all of last year. In the six games over the weekend, SDSU averaged 13.8 goals per game (83 total) and only allowed an average of 3.3 goals (20 toal). This came after averaging 12.3 goals per game while allowing an average of 2.7 in three games at the Wolverine Invite. Through 23 games, the Aztecs have netted 234 goals, 47 more goals than last year's 23-game total of 187.
Freshman Contributions
This year's highly-touted freshman class has been counted on to contribute immediately and they have not disappointed. Three Aztecs have played in all 23 games (Anna Gonzales, Erinn Greenwood and Jenna Schuster) with Gonzales receiving the starting nod in every game up to this point. Four other freshmen, Erin Lester (15 games), Nicole Louie (15 games), Jessica Pace (17 games) and Ashling Taylor (22 games) have also seen playing time throughout the course of the season. Combined, the class has accounted for 83 of the team's 234 goals (35.5 percent), 66 assists and 72 steals. Schuster and Taylor are the leading freshman goal scorers with 21, while Gonzales is not far behind with 19.
Stingy Defense
The Aztecs' defense has been stingy so far through 23 contests as they have allowed an average of 5.0 goals per game. A major reason why SDSU ranks among the nation's elite is the way the Aztecs open and close games. Through 23 games, San Diego State is allowing an average of 0.87 goals in the first period (20 total). The Aztecs' fourth quarter performance is just as impressive allowing just 0.91 goals to close out contests (21 total). Not once in its four games at the LMU Invite did SDSU allow a goal in the first quarter.
The Shots Stop Here
Goalkeeper Sarah Kilgore is enjoying a tremendous season as she has 161 saves in 23 games (7.0 spg) and guided the Aztecs to its first shutout of an opponent since 2002 when SDSU blanked Michigan. She and back-up Heather Fenske also combined to hold Colorado State scoreless on March 24. Kilgore already has five double-digit save efforts to her credit and has notched 13 or more saves three different times this year, including a season-high 15 against Indiana on March 18.
Serna Scores
Rachel Serna has picked up where she left off from last year's All-America season where she scored the eighth-most goals in a season in school history (65) as she has already netted a team-leading 32 goals. The senior from Coronado is 22nd in the conference in goals per game with 1.39.
Against No. 10 San Jose State in the seventh-place game of the Gaucho Invitational on Feb. 26, Serna scored five goals for the second time in her career in the 9-6 win. Oddly enough, the first time she scored five in game was at the Gaucho Invite one year ago to the day on Feb. 26, 2005, against UC Irvine. In both instances, the Aztecs were victorious.
Dropping Dimes
Elana Cervantes set the school record for assists in a season (56) last year and is well on her way to setting the school record. Former Aztec Dominique Delgado is the all-time leader with 126 and Cervantes is not far behind as she has recorded 116 (tied for second all time with Amber Prestegard) in two-plus seasons. The junior from Davis, Calif., surpassed Holly Hartzell (95) for third all time in school history when she tallied three against Oxy.