April 22, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
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No. 7 San Diego State Water Polo Set to Face Stanford in MPSF Opening Round
The seventh-ranked San Diego State (22-9 overall; 1-6 MPSF) earned the No. 7 seed in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Women's Water Polo Championship and will square off against second-seeded Stanford in a first-round match-up on Friday, April 24, at 6 p.m. (PT). If SDSU prevails, it will play the winner of the UCLA/Hawai'i game Saturday at 10:30 p.m. (PT). If the Aztecs falter, however, they will play the loser of the same contest on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (PT).
Scouting the Cardinal
Stanford (6-1 MPSF, 22-2 overall) earned the No. 2 seed at the MPSF tournament after seeing its 19-game winning streak snapped and its undefeated MPSF regular-season slip away when it suffered an 11-6 loss to No. 2 USC on Saturday. Freshman Melissa Seidemann scored twice to pace the Cardinal offense, while Kelly Eaton, Alex Koran, Lauren Silver and Jessica Steffens also registered goals. Goalie Amber Oland made six saves in the contest.
This will be the second meeting between the Aztecs and Stanford. The Cardinal won the lone meeting of the year, 11-6, March 25 at SDSU.
Freshman Melissa Seidemann owns 55 goals on the year, seventh in the conference with 2.29 per game. Lauren Silver also finds herself among the league's top scoring leaders at No. 12 with 31 tallies (1.98/game), as does Kelly Eaton at No. 17 with 36 goals (1.57/game). Stanford's goalkeepers have split time in the cage this year. Sophomore goalkeeper Amber Oland has amassed 116 saves in 16 games to finish sixth in the MPSF with a 7.25 saves per game average, while classmate Kim Hall has racked up 58 saves in 13 games to finish ninth in the league with a 4.46 saves per game average.
Aztecs Among the MPSF Leaders
As of April 20, two Aztecs lead Mountain Pacific Sports Federation categories. Freshman Kelly Campoli leads all goalkeepers in the MPSF, averaging 10.40 saves per game. Senior Anna Gonzales, although being ranked second among scorers in the MPSF with a 2.77 goals per game average, leads all scorers in the MPSF with her 86 season goals. She has found the back of the net 12 more times than the second leading goal producer Juliet Moss of San Jose State. In the same category, senior co-captain Jenna Schuster is 13th with 60 goals (1.94/game). As a team, the Aztecs are ranked fifth in offensive production (11.35 goals per game) and sixth in team defense (8.00 goals allowed/game).
Offensive Prowess
San Diego State reached double-digit goals in 19 matches this year. Earlier in the year, the Aztecs put together a string of eight consecutive double-figure scoring games (Feb. 22-March 8). The Scarlet and Black currently have a streak of two double-digit scoring games entering tournament play. The senior duo of Gonzales and Schuster lead the Aztecs with 86 and 60 goals, respectively, while sophomore Sarah Brady and junior Ronni Gautschi have recorded a team-best 42 and 41 assists each.
Greenwood Gets It
Senior Erinn Greenwood set San Diego State's all-time record in career ejections drawn this season. She has drawn 94 ejections in 2009, which is second all-time on the single-season charts. Greenwood currently has 314 total kick outs drawn. In addition to ranking first in the SDSU record books for career ejections drawn, Greenwood also ties for fourth all-time on the career assists list with 116 assists.
Gonzales Getting There
Senior Anna Gonzales continues to climb the charts in SDSU's record books. Gonzales remains second in Aztec history in goals scored with 267 scores recorded. She is only 11 goals shy of first place all-time. Gonzales is also currently ranked third among career assists leaders with her 119 assists. She is ranked seventh in the career steals category with 176 thefts to her credit and sixth among the leaders in career ejections drawn with 122.
Schuster Sneaking Up
Senior co-captain Jenna Schuster is also within striking distance of SDSU's all-time career goals scored record. She has 251 scores to her credit and is just 16 behind Gonzales for third place in the SDSU record book. In addition, Schuster has recorded 123 career ejections drawn, good enough for fourth place all-time.
On The Single-Season Charts
Greenwood established an SDSU single-season record each of the last two years. This season she's at it again as her 94 ejections drawn this year rank second, while Gonzales' 86 goals this season rank third. Sophomore Sarah Brady is currently ninth with 42 assists, while junior Ronni Gautschi is right behind her in 10th with 41 helpers in 2009. Freshman goalkeeper Campoli rounds out the Aztec single-season record holders as she sits in fifth place with 260 saves in just her first season on The Mesa.
Consistent Duo
Gonzales has earned her way into the scoring column in all 31 of SDSU's games this season. She has 23 multiple goal games. Schuster has also been a force to be reckoned with, scoring at least once in 26 games and at least twice in 21 contests this season.
SDSU in the Polls
San Diego State remains ranked seventh in the National Collegiate Women's Top 20 Poll, released April 22 by the Collegiate Water Polo Association. Since the beginning of the 2006 season, the Aztecs have earned a top-10 ranking every week that the poll has been released.
Crawford at the Controls
Head coach Carin Crawford enters her 11th year at the helm of the San Diego State women's water polo team. In each of her 10 seasons on Montezuma Mesa, SDSU has never finished below 11th place in the final national rankings. In 2008, Crawford led the Aztecs to their second consecutive appearance at the NCAA championships, where SDSU finished fifth. During her tenure, the Aztecs have garnered 17 All-America awards and have also claimed 18 all-MPSF accolades. In addition, Crawford's players have earned 36 all-MPSF academic awards, as well as 30 AWPCA all-academic honors.