March 22, 2007
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The fourth-ranked San Diego State women's water polo team rolled to its seventh straight victory on Thursday, downing Long Beach State, 10-3, in a Mountain Pacific Sport Federation contest at 49er Pool in Long Beach, Calif. Sophomore Jenna Schuster (Upland, Calif.) put on another dazzling offensive display by scoring five goals on the afternoon, while fellow classmate Anna Gonzales (Fresno, Calif.) contributed four tallies of her own. With the win, the Aztecs raise their record to 14-4 on the year and 5-2 in conference, while the 49ers drop to 6-8 overall and 2-4 in the MPSF.
Long Beach State dented the scoreboard in the first quarter when Dayna Wawrzynski found the back of the net 75 seconds into the game, giving the 49ers an early 1-0 lead. SDSU came roaring back, however, as Schuster notched three consecutive goals by the 7:22 mark of the second period. LBSU quickly responded with a score by Branwyn Lee on its ensuing possession, which narrowed the gap to 3-2. But that would be as close as the 49ers would get the rest of the way, as the Aztecs built a 6-2 advantage at halftime thanks to a pair of goals by Gonzales and another by fellow sophomore Erinn Greenwood (Sanger, Calif.).
Following the intermission, the Scarlet and Black increased its lead to 10-2 after Schuster and Gonzales tacked on two additional scores apiece. With her performance, Gonzales reclaimed the team lead with 35 goals on the season, followed by Schuster, who now has 33 scores to her credit, tying senior Stacy Werner (Lodi, Calif.) for second place.
Meanwhile, senior goalkeeper Sarah Kilgore (Rossmoor, Calif.) nearly posted a shutout in the second half until Wawrzynski notched her second score of the game with 1:07 remaining on the clock. Kilgore finished with six saves as the Aztec defense held their sixth opponent of the 2007 season to fewer than five goals.
San Diego State returns home this weekend when it plays host to the inaugural Aztec Invitational, March 24-25, at the brand-new Aztec Aquaplex. SDSU will lock horns with Brown and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday starting at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively. The round-robin format concludes on Sunday as the Aztecs face Pomona-Pitzer beginning at 3 p.m., followed by a clash with Cal State Bakersfield at 5 p.m.
#4 SAN DIEGO STATE 10, #15 LONG BEACH STATE 3
49er Pool
Long Beach, Calif.
SDSU 2-4-3-1--10
Long Beach State 1-1-0-1--3
San Diego State goals: Jenna Schuster 5, Anna Gonzales 4, Erinn Greenwood
Long Beach State goals: Dayna Wawrzynski 2, Branwyn Lee
San Diego State goalie saves: Sarah Kilgore - 6
Long Beach State goalie saves: Kim Hayes - 7