April 24, 2006
SAN DIEGO -
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SDSU Water Polo Heads to MPSF Championship; Faces San Jose State in First Round
San Diego State (20-10; 5-7 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation), which finished in a tie for seventh place in the MPSF, enters the league tournament as the No. 9 seed and will face eighth-seeded San Jose State (11-13; 5-7 MPSF) in the first round of the MPSF Championship being held in Irvine, Calif., from April 27-30. The match is slated for a 3 p.m. PDT start on Thursday, April 27, at UC Irvine. The winner will advance to play top-seeded USC, April 28, at 12:30 p.m., with the loser facing the loser of the (7)Arizona State-(10)Long Beach State matchup at 11:15 a.m. that same morning.
The Aztecs head into the postseason tournament having gone 1-1 this past week. On April 20, SDSU maintained its possession of the Harper Cup for a fifth consecutive season when it came from behind to defeat No. 15 UC San Diego, 6-5, in Canyonview Pool. Two days later, San Diego State made the trip to Tempe, Ariz., to play No.11 Arizona State in the conference and regular season finale. The Aztecs fell to the Sun Devils, 5-4, and created a three-way tie for seventh in the league with San Jose State, ASU and SDSU. As a result of goal differential tiebreaker rules, the Sun Devils were awarded the No. 7 seed, with the Spartans and Aztecs earning the No. 8 and 9 seeds, respectively.
The winner of the MPSF Championship earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship in Davis, Calif., May 12-14.
A Look at San Jose State
Similar to San Diego State, San Jose State (11-13; 5-7 MPSF) is coming off a week in which it finished 1-1. On April 21, the Spartans dropped a 9-3 decision to Stanford and came back with a 15-1 win over UC Santa Cruz later in the day. The Aztecs are 1-1 this season vs. SJSU with the Spartans claiming the most recent meeting, 8-7, in overtime in San Jose. However, SDSU won the first meeting on neutral soil, 9-6, in the seventh-place match at the Gaucho Invitational. The Aztecs are 9-6 all-time vs. SJSU.
A Look at the Field
Here is a look at other possible opponents the Aztecs could face in the tournament...
(1)USC: The Aztecs went 0-2 against the Women of Troy this season, losing the first meeting, 11-4, on Feb. 25 at the Gaucho Invitational in Santa Barbara, Calif. The second match was a much more competitive one as SDSU posted 11 goals, the most any team has scored against USC this season, in a 16-11 losing effort in San Diego, April 1. SDSU is 9-22 all-time vs. USC.
(2)UCLA: The Bruins won the only meeting this year, 12-3, in Los Angeles. SDSU is 3-27 vs. UCLA all-time.
(3)STANFORD: The Cardinal escaped with a 7-2 win in Palo Alto, Calif., April 8, in the only game between the two schools. The match was much closer than the score indicates as Stanford tacked on a pair of goals in the final 3 minutes of play to give the contest its final score. The Aztecs own a 9-18 record vs. the Cardinal.
(4)CALIFORNIA: The Golden Bears recorded a 7-4 victory over San Diego State in San Diego, March 30, in their only meeting of the season. Cal holds a 21-8 advantage over the Aztecs.
(5)HAWAI'I: The Rainbow Wahine posted a 7-3 win on Feb. 23 in "America's Finest City" in the only matchup of the year. The Aztecs are 7-11 in school history against UH.
(6)UC IRVINE: San Diego State defeated UC Irvine, 10-5, in their lone match of the season in Irvine on March 26. SDSU has never lost to the Anteaters in 14 all-time meetings.
(7)ARIZONA STATE: The Aztecs finished 2006 with a 1-1 record against the Sun Devils. SDSU took the first meeting, 4-2, in the opening match of Gaucho Invitational, Feb. 25. Most recently, ASU avenged the loss by defeating the Aztecs, 5-4, in Tempe on April 22. SDSU is 4-1 in school history vs. ASU.
(10)LONG BEACH STATE: San Diego State split two matches with Long Beach State this year. The 49ers won 7-6 at the UCSD Triton Invitational in the third match of the season. The Aztecs took a lead in the fourth quarter, but could not withstand LBSU's rally as it scored two goals to SDSU's zero. Later in the season, the Aztecs prevailed 7-3 in a match that was delayed due to hail in San Diego, March 11. Against the 49ers, SDSU is 14-11 all-time.
(11)UC SANTA BARBARA: The Aztecs swept their two matches with UC Santa Barbara. this season. In the third-place match at the Triton Invitational in La Jolla, Calif., SDSU emerged victorious with a 6-5 win. More than two months later, the Gauchos made the trip to San Diego and were defeated 11-7 at The Salvation Army Kroc Center. SDSU is 29-10 all-time vs. UCSB.
(12)CS NORTHRIDGE: On Feb. 24, SDSU claimed an 11-5 victory at CS Northridge for its fourth win of the season. The Aztecs have won six of the seven all-time meetings between the two squads.
(13)PACIFIC: The Aztecs set a school record when they scored 24 goals against Pacific, in a 24-5 rout of the Tigers March 4 in San Diego. Seventeen of SDSU's 18 active roster players scored at least one goal in the match, including goalie Sarah Kilgore who saw action as a field player. SDSU is 19-0 against UOP in program history.
Aztecs in the MPSF Championship
San Diego State is 25-19 in the 10-year history of the MPSF Championship. Since 1999, the beginning of Carin Crawford's tenure, the Aztecs have finished no higher than fifth in the tournament and have a combined record of 15-14. The Aztecs placed fifth in both 2000 and 2003. The 2004 team placed sixth, with the 2001, 2002 and 2005 squads coming in seventh.
Last Time Out
Playing in its regular season finale, the eighth-ranked San Diego State water polo team dropped a 5-4 decision to No. 11 Arizona State at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center Saturday afternoon.
The contest began with both teams trading possessions for the first five and a half minutes before ASU's Tessa Wyborny received a pass from the wing and put her shot past Aztec goalkeeper Sarah Kilgore for the game's first goal.
In the second period, down 1-0, SDSU drew an ejection on the Sun Devil's Addison Doud and promptly called for time. As play resumed, the Aztecs found Elana Cervantes and she tied the scored with her 37th goal of the season.
Coming out of halftime with the scored knotted at one, both schools upped the scoring production as six total goals were posted in the quarter. Savanah Kelley struck first on a 6-on-5 opportunity giving the Aztecs a brief 2-1 lead with 3:58 showing on the clock. Unfortunately for SDSU, the Sun Devils scored four consecutive goals, two on power-play chances and a pair on 4-meter penalty shots, to regain the lead. As the period wound down, Ashling Taylor found the back of the net with a man advantage with 14 seconds remaining to cut San Diego State's deficit to two.
In the fourth quarter, the Aztecs gave themselves a chance to win as they held their second consecutive opponent scoreless in the period. Offensively, however, SDSU scored just once on Kelley's second goal of the game, and ASU walked away with the victory.
In defeat, Kilgore recorded her ninth double-digit save effort of the season with a career-high 17 stops on the afternoon.
Aztecs Keep Harper Cup For Fifth Straight Year
With its win over UC San Diego, April 20, the Aztecs kept the Harper Cup on Montezuma Mesa for the fifth consecutive season. SDSU trailed early, 3-1, after one period, but shut out UCSD and scored three goals in the second period to take a 4-3 lead into halftime. Both schools played even in the third, scoring two goals apiece. In the fourth, neither team scored and the Aztecs held on at the end to pocket the 6-5 victory.
Stacy Werner was named most valubable player making her the first junior to earn the game's award in the five-year history of the event. Her four predecessors, Dominique Delgado, Holly Hartzell, Amber Prestegard and Heather Stiles were all seniors when they earned MVP honors.
The Harper Cup is named for current UCSD men's water polo coach Denny Harper, who coached SDSU head coach Carin Crawford and UCSD women's head coach Larry Sanders while they were attending the La Jolla school. Harper, a SDSU graduate, coached the Triton women to five national championships during his tenure.
SDSU Reaches 20-Win Plateau
San Diego State posted its ninth 20-win campaign in 12 varsity seasons with its 6-5 over UC San Diego. It is the third time in school history that an SDSU team has followed a non-20-win season with 20 or more victories. In fact, each year the Aztecs posted a win total in the teens (17 in 1997 and 18 in 2000), the next year they posted exactly 23 victories (1998 and 2001).
Werner Takes Six Four Times
Stacy Werner recorded six steals at UC San Diego (April 20) for the fourth time this season. The junior leads the team with 79 for the year. She is the first Aztec to record at least six steals in a game four different times in one season. The six-steal total is the third-highest mark in school history behind Megan Dunbar's nine (1999 and 2000) and Werner (2004) and Casey Finnegan's seven (2003). Joining Werner with six steals is Savanah Kelley (2006), Chelsy Smith (2004) and Finnegan (2002).
Thief!
Savanah Kelley joined Stacy Werner as the only two Aztecs to record six steals when she did it at Arizona State on April 22. It was the fifth time this year that six steals were tallied by a single player in a game, the most in school history. Only four previous times have the Aztecs had a player notch more steals in a game.
Career Years in Scoring
Elana Cervantes, Ashley McCullum, Becca Ur, Stacy Werner and Cassie Zebisch have all established personal-bests in goal scoring this season. Cervantes broke her previous season-best of 35 goals in 2005 against UCSB (April 15) when she scored twice. She now has 37 for the year, tied for second most on the team. McCullum, who scored nine goals at Michigan (2004) and last year at SDSU, has found the back of the net 13 different times this season, while Ur has surpassed her freshman season total of 15 with 22 up to this point. Zebisch, a co-captain, has scored nine times this year after only scoring six goals in her first year at SDSU. Werner, with her goal at UC San Diego, set a career-best with 37 goals this season.
Susan Stivers is close to joining the aforementioned group. The senior from El Cajon, Calif., has 10 goals on the season with her career-high of 15 coming last year.
All-time Freshman Goal Scorers
San Diego State's freshman class has played a giant role in the team's success this season. Three of the squad's seven freshmen have been slowly moving up the Carin Crawford-era freshman goal scoring chart with Ashling Taylor in fourth with 27 goals. Jenna Schuster is tied for fifth with 24 goals and Anna Gonzales sits in sixth place with 21. The top three spots are occupied by Holly Hartzell (90 goals), Amber Prestegard (58) and Dominique Delgado (33).
Offensive Firepower
San Diego State has shown the ability to score goals bunches this season having scored at least 10 goals in 11 of its last 16 games. For the season, the Aztecs have reached the double-figure plateau 14 times after posting only nine all of last year. During a six-game stretch in March (March 24-26), 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 30 games, the Aztecs have netted 279 goals, 38 more goals than last year's 30-game total of 241.
Freshman Contributions
This year's highly-touted freshman class has been counted on to contribute immediately and they have not disappointed. Two Aztecs have played in all 30 games (Anna Gonzales and Jenna Schuster) with Gonzales receiving the starting nod in every game up to this point. Five other freshmen, Erinn Greenwood (29 games) Erin Lester (15), Nicole Louie (15), Jessica Pace (19) and Ashling Taylor (29) have also seen significant playing time throughout the course of the season. Combined, the class has accounted for 95 of the team's 279 goals (34.1 percent), 74 assists and 79 steals. Taylor is the leading freshman goal scorer with 27, while Schuster and Gonzales are not far behind with 24 and 21, respectively.
Stingy Defense
The Aztecs' defense has been stingy so far through 30 contests as they have allowed an average of 5.67 goals per game. A major reason why SDSU ranks among the nation's elite is the way the Aztecs open and close games. Through 30 games, San Diego State is allowing an average of 1.17 goals in the first period (35 total). The Aztecs' fourth quarter performance is just as impressive allowing just 0.93 goals to close out contests (28 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 229 saves in 30 games (7.63 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 nine double-digit save efforts to her credit and has notched 13 or more saves five different times this year, including a career- and season-high 17 at Arizona State on April 22.
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 netted a team-leading 39 goals. The senior from Coronado is seventh in school history with 127 career goals.
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 UCI. 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 career school record. Former Aztec Dominique Delgado is the all-time leader with 126 and Cervantes is not far behind as she has recorded 123 in two-plus seasons. The junior from Davis, Calif., surpassed Amber Prestegard (116) for second all time in school history when she tallied two against USC.
Shoplifter
Similar to Rachel Serna and Elana Cervantes, Stacy Werner leads the team in steals after she led the 2005 squad with 53. So far this season, the junior has a personal-best 79 steals for an average of 2.63 per game. Four times this season she has recorded at least six steals in a game, the third-highest total and fifth-best mark in school history. She is second on the team in assists with 29 and tied for second in scoring with 37. She has 146 steals for her career and is seventh all-time in SDSU history.
Hot Shooting
In its two games on March 4 vs. UOP and Oxy, San Diego State shot a combined 64.1 percent (41-64) from the field. The Aztecs were just as impressive on 6-on-5 opportunities as they converted on 81.8 percent of its shot attempts (9-11), including a 4-for-4 effort against Occidental.
Goalkeeper Goal
It was not a mistake that Sarah Kilgore scored a goal in the MPSF match against Pacific. With the Aztecs leading 21-4, the goalkeeper exchanged her No. 1 cap for one labeled No. 19 and entered the game as a field player. Kilgore wound up scoring one goal, her first of her career, on her second shot attempt. She becomes the first SDSU goalie to record a goal since Curran Teigen scored twice during the 1999 season.
One For Every Finger
Freshman Anna Gonzales tallied five goals in the game vs. Occidental College, joining Rachel Serna as the only Aztecs to accomplish the feat this season. She is the first freshman since Dominique Delgado in 2002 to score five goals in a single contest. Gonzales becomes only the third freshman since the 2000 season to have posted five in a game.
24
SDSU set a school record for goals scored in a game on March 4, when it put up 24 against Pacific. It was just the seventh occurrence in program history that an Aztec team scored at least 20 goals in a game. The 19-goal margin of victory is the third largest in SDSU history and the largest since Feb. 5, 1999, when the Aztecs defeated Central Florida by 20, 22-2, at the U.S. Senior Winter Championships at Princeton. SDSU's largest margin of victory of 21 came during a 22-1 win vs. UC Davis at the Pomona Tournament on March 25, 1995.
Balanced Attack
In the 24-5 rout of Pacific on March 4, the Aztecs received a balanced scoring attack as no player scored more than three goals and 17 of the team's 18 active roster players posted at least one goal. Erinn Greenwood led the squad with her first hat trick, while Anna Gonzales, Nicole Louie, Jenna Schuster, Ashling Taylor and Becca Ur each scored twice. Of the 12 remaining players of the roster, 11 scored a goal, including goalkeeper Sarah Kilgore, who saw time as a field player in the fourth quarter.
It was more of the same later in the afternoon against Occidental College as 11 different Aztecs contributed to the team's 17 goals. Gonzales led the way with five goals, while Elana Cervantes and Greenwood both added two.
Schuster's Coming Out Party
In the Aztecs' six games during the weekend of 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 24 goals on 60 attempts and is second to Ashling Taylor in goal scoring among the team's freshmen.
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 was just the third time in school history that an SDSU team recorded two 20-plus goal games in a single season joining the 1995 and 1996 squads. 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 30 games this season and a record of 20-10 (5-7 MPSF), the Aztecs eclipsed 2005's overall and league win totals of 16 and three, respectively. With 279 goals, San Diego State also surpassed last year's goal total of 268 and tallied 68 goals in the first quarter after scoring only 57 all of last season.
Who Scored That One?
SDSU has had a ton of players score goals this season and part of that can be contributed to the fact that it has had at least eight players score in a game on nine different occasions (all victories) surpassing the 2005 total of four. So far this year, 11 players have scored at least 10 goals, including seven with 20 or more, surpassing last season's total.
Nine-Match Winning Streak
SDSU had is school-record, nine-match winning streak snapped by California on March 30, but its effort eclipsed 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 with a mark of 24-8.
Overtime Unkind for Aztecs
Despite having an all-time record of 18-9 in overtime matches, the Aztecs have recently had trouble in the extra session the past two seasons. Going back to 2005, SDSU is 1-3 in contests that have required bonus water polo. The overtime match at San Jose State (April 9) was the first for the Aztecs in more than year with the last coming on March 6, 2005, at California. That day, both teams were tied at 9-9 after the first two overtime frames sending the game into sudden death where Molly Hayes scored the game-winner with 19 seconds left.
Moral Victory
Despite losing to No. 1 Southern California on April 1, the Aztecs achieved a moral victory of sorts as they scored 11 goals against the Women of Troy. Going into the contest, USC had only allowed 93 goals in 19 games (4.9 gpg). Before SDSU put up an 11 spot on the scoreboard, the most USC had allowed this year was eight goals vs. UCLA at the Stanford Tournament, Feb. 12. The Aztecs were also successful stopping Southern California's leading goal scorer Brittany Hayes as Stacy Werner drew the assignment and held her scoreless for the game.
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.