March 10, 2007
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The eighth-ranked San Diego State water polo team posted a pair of victories on Saturday during the UC Santa Barbara Mini Tournament in Santa Barbara, Calif. The Aztecs received a late goal from senior Stacy Werner (Lodi, Calif.) to defeat No. 12 UCSB, 4-3, in an MPSF contest before dispatching non-conference foe Marist, 8-3, in the nightcap. With the sweep, SDSU improves to 10-4 overall and 2-2 in MPSF play.
In the opener against UCSB, both defenses established control in the early going as the first quarter elapsed with goose eggs on the scoreboard. The Aztecs finally broke through on a goal by junior Becca Ur (Lompoc, Calif.) at the 6:54 mark of the second period, while sophomore Jenna Schuster (Upland, Calif.) scored on SDSU's ensuing possession, increasing the lead to 2-0. The Gauchos cut the margin in half just moments later, however, as Gillian Morgan found the back of the net during a 6-on-5 situation. The Aztecs were unable to convert two man-up opportunities of their own over the final five minutes as the Scarlet and Black maintained a slim 2-1 advantage at intermission.
The low-scoring affair continued into the second half with the two teams trading single tallies in the third quarter. Schuster tacked on her second goal of the contest at the 5:19 mark, while Aimee Stachowski scored just under three minutes later, narrowing the gap to 3-2.
As the fourth period got underway, UCSB knotted things up on a goal by Kaitlin Kubas during another 6-on-5 play. The Aztecs drew an ejection of their own at the 2:56 mark and made the home team pay as Werner took a pass from sophomore Erinn Greenwood (Sanger, Calif.) and fired a shot past Gaucho goalkeeper Jenny Gonzales, giving San Diego State the upper hand once again at 4-3. With 1:34 left, UCSB had one final man-up opportunity, but the Aztecs were able to run out the remaining clock for the hard-fought victory.
Senior goalkeeper Sarah Kilgore (Rossmoor, Calif.) sparked the defense with nine saves, while Werner added two steals to go along with one assist.
San Diego State maintained the same defensive pressure against Marist, jumping out to a 3-0 halftime lead on a pair of goals by sophomore Anna Gonzales (Fresno, Calif.) and a single tally by Werner. The Red Foxes got on the board during their first possession of second half, but the Aztecs responded with four unanswered goals to take an insurmountable 7-1 lead into the fourth quarter. Werner notched her second goal of the game, while Ur, Schuster and senior Elana Cervantes (Davis, Calif.) also found the back of the cage during the blitz.
Rounding out the scoring for the Scarlet and Black was sophomore Jessica Pace (Santee, Calif.), who notched her first goal of the season at the 2:50 mark. In front of the net, Kilgore made four saves before giving way to junior Heather Fenske (Lompoc, Calif.) in the second half. Fenske also made four stops, while Werner and Cervantes had three steals and three assists, respectively.
The Aztecs will return to the pool on Saturday, March 17, when they travel north to face No. 4 California in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation showdown at the Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley, Calif. Game time is set for noon PDT.
UC SANTA BARBARA MINI TOURNAMENT
At Santa Barbara, Calif.
#8 San Diego State 4, #12 UC Santa Barbara 3
SDSU 0-2-1-1--4
UCSB 0-1-1-1--3
San Diego State goals: Jenna Schuster 2, Stacy Werner, Becca Ur
UC Santa Barbara goals: Gillian Morgan, Aimee Stachowski, Kaitlin Kubas
San Diego State goalie saves: Sarah Kilgore - 9
UC Santa Barbara goalie saves: Jenny Gonzales - 9
#8 San Diego State 8, Marist 3
Marist 0-0-1-2--3
SDSU 0-3-2-3--8
Marist goals: Katelin McCahill, Angie Rampton, Samantha Swartz
San Diego State goals: Anna Gonzales 2, Stacy Werner 2, Elana Cervantes, Jessica Pace, Jenna Schuster, Becca Ur
Marist goalie saves: n/a
San Diego State goalie saves: Sarah Kilgore - 4, Heather Fenske - 4