May 13, 2007
LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. - The fourth-seeded San Diego State water polo team put forth a valiant effort, but it wasn't enough as it suffered a 13-6 defeat at the hands of No. 3 seed USC on Sunday in the third place game of the NCAA Tournament at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, Calif. After the Aztecs narrowed the gap to 8-6 early in the fourth quarter, the Women of Troy scored five unanswered goals to close out the game. Despite the loss, SDSU concludes its most successful season in the program's 13-year history with a 29-10 overall record, while USC finishes at 22-6.
"After a disappointing loss to Stanford yesterday, we made it a goal to fight hard on every possession and be more aggressive on offense," said Aztec head coach Carin Crawford. "We really wanted to send out our three seniors playing the best game that we possibly could. And I think we accomplished our goals in that respect."
Kami Craig found the back of the net on the Women of Troy's first two possessions as USC threatened to make the contest a runaway early in the first quarter. However, the SDSU defense tightened up, keeping its adversary off the scoreboard until 1:16 remaining in the period when Patty Cardenas found the back of the net for a 3-0 advantage. Much like Saturday's semifinal against Stanford, the Aztec offense was slow to get out of the gate, misfiring on its first seven shots.
SDSU came to life in the second quarter after sophomore Anna Gonzales (Fresno, Calif.) connected on a cross-cage shot during a 6-on-5 opportunity. Following a USC score on the ensuing possession, the Scarlet and Black responded with two goals 59 seconds apart to pull within 4-3. Senior Stacy Werner converted a penalty shot, while junior Becca Ur (Lompoc, Calif.) fought through traffic in the middle to hit pay dirt at the 3:43 mark. The Aztecs had three chances to tie the score on consecutive trips down the pool, but came up empty on each attempt. The complexion of the game then changed when the Women of Troy drilled a penalty shot of their own to go up, 5-3, with 13 seconds left before intermission.
USC outscored San Diego State in the third period by a 3-1 margin to open up an 8-4 lead. Gonzales tallied the Aztecs' lone strike of the quarter during another power-play situation at the 4:05 mark, while Craig completed her hat trick for the Women of Troy on a score with 17 seconds remaining.
SDSU was not ready to fade into USC's rear-view mirror quite yet as sophomore Erinn Greenwood (Sanger, Calif.) found daylight during a man-up opportunity with 1:16 elapsed in the final frame. Following an Aztec stop, senior goalkeeper Sarah Kilgore (Rossmoor, Calif.) heaved a deep outlet pass to sophomore Jenna Schuster (Upland, Calif.), who swam in all alone to beat Women of Troy's net minder Tumua Anae. However on the ensuing possession, USC quickly restored its three-goal cushion at 9-6 on Cardenas' second tally of the match at the 5:40 mark. The Scarlet and Black had a chance to trim the deficit back to two on its next foray down the field, but Schuster was unable to sneak a near-side shot past Anae, effectively ending SDSU's hopes. The Women of Troy then tacked on four goals over the final five minutes to capture third place in the tournament.
With her six-goal performance over the weekend, Anna Gonzales received second-team all-NCAA Tournament honors. She also contributed four steals, two assists and three drawn ejections. Gonzales finished the season with 80 goals, joining Jenna Schuster (84) as the first 80-goal scoring tandem in SDSU history.
Sunday's game was the swan song for seniors Kilgore, Werner and Elana Cervantes (Davis, Calif.), who completed their illustrious collegiate careers as three of San Diego State's all-time greats. After blocking 13 shots against USC, Kilgore leaves Montezuma Mesa second on the Aztecs' all-time list with 900 saves, while Werner, who garnered second-team all-MPSF accolades in 2007, finished second in SDSU history with 249 steals, fourth with 113 assists and sixth with 148 goals. In addition, Cervantes set a school record with 186 career assists and ranks ninth all-time with 108 goals.
(3) USC 13, (4) SAN DIEGO STATE 6
NCAA Tournament--3rd Place Game
Joint Forces Training Base--Los Alamitos, Calif.
San Diego State 0-3-1-2--6
USC 3-2-3-5--13
San Diego State goals: Anna Gonzales 2, Erinn Greenwood, Jenna Schuster, Becca Ur, Stacy Werner
USC goals: Kami Craig 3, Patty Cardenas 2, Erika Figge 2, Veronica Bartunkova, Brittany Hayes, Allison Riddle, Julie Spateru, Michelle Stein, Jana Wenger
San Diego State goalie saves: Sarah Kilgore - 13
USC goalie saves: Tumua Anae - 10
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS
First Team:
Kelly Rulon, UCLA-MVP
Katie Hansen, Stanford
Christina Hewko, Stanford
Erika Figge, USC
Kacy Kunkel, UCLA
Courtney Mathewson, UCLA
Jillian Kraus, UCLA
Second Team:
Meridith McColl, Stanford
Anna Gonzales, San Diego State
Kami Craig, USC
Patty Cardenas, USC
Dora Szabolecsi, Loyola Marymount
Brittany Hayes, USC
Kristen Hudson, Hartwick
Alison Gregorka, Stanford