April 13, 2010
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Water Polo Weekly Release in PDF Format
GAME WEEK RESET
(14) SAN DIEGO STATE (18-12; 0-6 MPSF) at (9) ARIZONA ST. (15-11; 0-6 MPSF)
Saturday, April 17 | Mona Plummer Aquatic Center | 11:30 a.m. PT
(15) INDIANA (17-8; 2-1 CWPA) vs. (14) SAN DIEGO STATE (18-12; 0-6 MPSF)
Saturday, April 17 | Mona Plummer Aquatic Center | 2:30 p.m. PT
AZTEC STORY LINES
- No. 14 San Diego State will look to pick up its first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation victory of the season when it travels to Tempe, Ariz., for its regular-season conference finale against ninth-ranked Arizona State on Saturday. First sprint is slated for 11:30 a.m. PT and the Aztecs will return to Mona Plummer Aquatic Center at 2:30 p.m. later that day to face No. 15 Indiana.
- San Diego State is coming off a heart-breaking 7-5 defeat to No. 4 UCLA last Saturday. The Aztecs, who beat the Bruins in the third game of the season, held a 4-3 lead at halftime and trailed by one entering the fourth quarter, but could not muster enough offense as UCLA posted the two-goal victory.
- Saturday's game between the Aztecs and Sun Devils has postseason tournament implications as both teams are looking to avoid locking up the eighth and final seed. Entering the MPSF finale, SDSU and ASU are both winless in six tries in league play. The winner of the game will secure the No. 7 seed and will play the second-seeded team. The loser faces the challenge of knocking off the tournament's top seed.
- SDSU has a lot riding on the game at Arizona State. In 14 previous seasons while competing in the MPSF, San Diego State has never finished a campaign with zero league wins.
- San Diego State has experienced recent success against the Sun Devils after winning all three meetings last year. In fact, SDSU has won eight of the 11 all-time meetings with Arizona State. ASU, however, has won two straight in Tempe and two of three all-time contests in the desert.
- The Aztecs and Hoosiers have met occasionally over the last 15 years in which San Diego State has competed at the Division I level. SDSU has beaten Indiana four straight times, including last year's 9-6 win at Aztec Aquaplex, and is 8-1 in nine all-time meetings. San Diego State's lone defeat came in 2005.
- With a sweep of both games Saturday, San Diego State will lock up another 20-win season. SDSU has won 20 or more games in four straight seasons and 12 times overall. If the Aztecs reach the 20-win plateau, it will mark a school-record fifth consecutive 20-win performance.
- The Aztecs end the season with three games away from Montezuma Mesa, a place that has been very kind to them this season. The road, on the other hand, has been a bag of mixed results. Entering this weekend, SDSU is 12-9 in road/neutral contests, but just 1-6 in true road games.
YOUTHFUL LOOK
San Diego State is one of the youngest groups in America and has the starting unit to reflect it. The Aztecs currently start two freshmen, three sophomores, one junior and one senior. Of the starting seven, only junior Sarah Brady has more than two seasons under her belt at SDSU. And of the 15 players to have played in at least 60 percent of San Diego State's game this year, seven are sophomores, four are juniors, three are freshmen and one is a senior.
CAMPOLI QUICKLY CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Sophomore Kelly Campoli has played in 29 games this season and 57 in her career, but the All-American is quickly making her way up the career saves list. The goalkeeper from Lake Forest, Calif., already has 574 career saves, which ranks third all-time in school history. Three weeks ago, she passed Ashley Zabel for third place (544), but has a long way to go before catching up with Curran Teigen's 904 career stops. This year alone, Campoli ranks first in the MPSF, the nation's premier conference, in total saves (274) and second in saves per game at 9.45.
DEFENSE NOT MISSING A BEAT DESPITE YOUTH
Last year, SDSU won 23 games and gave up an average of 8.3 goals. If 8.3 goals allowed per game is the benchmark to win more than 20 games, the Aztecs are on their way to another 20-win campaign. Through 30 games, SDSU is giving up an average of 6.63 goals and that's playing with five players new to the active roster and 11 players who are either freshmen or sophomores. The young group has also held 11 of SDSU's last 12 opponents to single digits in scoring and have allowed just five opponents this season to reach the double-figure scoring plateau.
UP NEXT FOR SAN DIEGO STATE....
Up next for SDSU is a trip across town for a date with UC San Diego. Up for grabs is the Harper Cup, a trophy San Diego State has not let slip away in the eight-year history of the game named after former Aztec Denny Harper. The 1978 San Diego State graduate established the SDSU women's water polo club team and most recently was the head coach of UCSD women's team.