April 29, 2010
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State Water Polo Weekly Release in PDF Format
GAME WEEK RESET
2010 MPSF WOMEN'S WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIP
(7) SAN DIEGO STATE (20-13; 1-6 MPSF) vs. (2) USC (20-2; 6-1 MPSF)
Friday, April 30 | Spieker Aquatics Center | Los Angeles, Calif. | 10 a.m. PT
Saturday, May 1 | vs. (3) California or (6) San Jose State | 11:30 a.m. or 3 p.m. PT
Sunday, May 2 | vs. TBD | Game Time TBD
AZTEC STORY LINES
- No. 12 and seventh-seeded San Diego State will begin its quest for its first-ever Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship against No. 2 and second-seeded USC on Friday. First sprint is slated for 10 a.m. PT at Spieker Aquatics Center on the campus of UCLA.
- SDSU enters the tournament having defeated 18th-ranked UC San Diego, 11-3, last Friday in La Jolla. In their lone game of the week, the Aztecs claimed their ninth straight Harper Cup victory over the Tritons. San Diego State dominated from start to finish and the Aztecs picked up their 20th win of the season for a school-record fifth year in a row.
- San Diego State enters the MPSF tournament with an all-time record of 34-25 in the event. The Aztecs lost their first-round game last year, but have won their first game of the tourney the four previous seasons.
- SDSU will be meeting USC in the MPSF Championship for the seventh time, but the first time since 2006. The Aztecs are 2-4 vs. the Women of Troy in the tourney with victories coming in 1996 and 1997.
- The Aztecs will take on a USC squad it lost to earlier this season, 9-4, in Los Angeles back on March 27. The Women of Troy built a 9-1 lead en route to the victory, but USC's nine goals marked its second-lowest scoring output of the season at the time.
- On Friday, San Diego State will look to snap a lengthy losing streak to the Women of Troy. The Aztecs' last victory in the series came back on April 26, 1998, in Palo Alto, Calif. Since that win, SDSU has lost 26 in a row to USC.
- Overall, San Diego State is 9-27 all time against Southern California. The Aztecs dominated the series in the early going, winning the first eight meetings and nine of the first 10.
- Depending on its outcome vs. USC, San Diego State will play either third-seeded California or sixth-seeded San Jose State in the following round. The Aztecs lost each of their games against Cal and SJSU this season, falling 10-4 to the Golden Bears and 7-5 to the Spartans.
- SDSU is 15-8 all-time vs. fellow Cal State University school, San Jose State, and is 11-22 vs. its Berkeley counterparts. The Aztecs, however, are 6-2 in their last eight vs. the Spartans and 3-2 in their last five vs. the Golden Bears.
- Amber Pezzolla and Kelly Campoli enter the conference tournament atop the leaderboard in two categories. Pezzolla leads all MPSF freshmen with 52 goals, while Campoli leads the league with 303 saves, which is 41 saves more than Cal's Stephanie Peckham, who ranks second.
40-40-40 CLUB
Amber Pezzolla is the first freshman since before the 2000 campaign and the first Aztec since 2007 to record at least 40 goals, 40 assists and 40 steals in one season. Pezzolla enters the USC game with team-best figures of 52 goals, 44 assists and 73 steals. The last time an Aztec accomplished the feat was in 2007 when senior Stacy Werner (66 goals, 48 assists, 95 steals) and sophomore Erin Greenwood (45 goals, 45 assists, 44 steals) both reached the benchmarks. Amber Prestegard, a then sophomore, was the first member of the club when she put up 61 goals, 45 assists and 48 steals.
TRIO SCORING WITH REGULARITY
In San Diego State's last seven games, which dates back to its road loss at USC, Meaghan Poland, Sarah Brady and Leanne Ford have routinely found the back of the net. During the seven-game period, Poland, the Harper Cup MVP, has scored in all seven games (13 goals), Ford has posted 11 in five contests and Brady has accumulated nine goals in five outings. In the seven games, the trio has accounted for 33 of the Aztecs' 58 goals (56.9 percent).
CAMPOLI & CO. ANCHORING DEFENSE
Sophomore goalkeeper Kelly Campoli has played a big part in the Aztecs allowing 6.69 goals per game this season and holding six teams to 10 goals or more. The All-American has amassed a career-high 303 saves, three more than her freshman-year total, and made 21 steals, the seventh most on the team. Campoli has enjoyed a solid season in large part to her teammates who play in front of her. Through 33 games, San Diego State has recorded 456 steals, the most since before the 2000 campaign. Prior to this season, the most steals any Aztec team has had was 442 in 2007. So far, SDSU has five players with 44 or more steals and three with 62 or more (Amber Pezzolla - 73, Sarah Brady - 68, Alex Ford - 62).