April 24, 2008
SAN DIEGO - No. 4 seed San Diego State's offense came alive in a 16-2 victory over 13th-seeded Pacific in the opening round of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship Thursday morning at the Aztec Aquaplex. SDSU improves to 27-5 overall, while the Tigers fall to 4-26 on the season.
The Aztecs scored a season-best 16 goals with 10 coming in the first half. Junior Jenna Schuster had a game-high three tallies, while Erinn Greenwood, Ronni Gautschi and Danielle Pelke each found the back of the cage twice.
SDSU jumped out to an early lead, scoring twice within the first two minutes of action. Gonzales then converted a penalty shot at the 5:10 mark to put the Aztecs up 3-0. With two minutes remaining in the period, Schuster took a cross-court pass from Gautschi and drove it past Pacific goalkeeper Jocelyn Gray. Jamie Vessey closed out the quarter with a tally to give the Scarlet and Black a 5-0 advantage.
The Tigers opened the second frame with a pair of goals to cut the Aztecs' lead to 5-2, but SDSU quickly regained control, scoring five more times before the end of the half. Hannah Klein racked up her fourth goal of the season before Erin Lester notched a tally, giving SDSU a comfortable 10-2 advantage at the break.
San Diego State continued to roll in the second half scoring three goals in both the third and fourth quarters, with freshman Kierstin Hill finding the back of the cage for the second time this season.
Even more impressive than the offensive heroics was the defensive effort from the Scarlet and Black. SDSU held Pacific to a season-tying low two goals. Goalkeepers Heather Fenske and Katie Bentley led the way with eight and seven saves, respectively, while Greenwood added four steals.
With the win, the Aztecs advance to the quarterfinals and will play the winner of No. 5 Hawai'i and No. 12 UC Santa Barbara at 3:50 p.m. (PDT) on Friday, April 25.
#4 SAN DIEGO STATE 16, #13 PACIFIC 2
Aztec Aquaplex - San Diego, Calif.
April 24, 2008
UOP 0-2-0-0 -- 2SDSU 5-5-3-3 -- 16
UOP goals: Fletcher, Geck.SDSU goals: Schuster 3, Gautschi 2, Greenwood 2, Pelke 2, Hill, Pace-Bowers, Lester, Gonzales, Klein, J. Vessey, Ur.
UOP goalie saves: Gray 7.SDSU goalie saves: Fenske 8, Bentley 7.