April 30, 2010
LOS ANGELES - Seventh-seeded and 12th-ranked San Diego State led 2-1 after one period, but ultimately fell to No. 2 seed and second-ranked USC, 15-5, Friday morning at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship at Spieker Aquatics Center. The loss puts SDSU on the consolation side of the bracket and drops its record to 20-14. The Women of Troy, meanwhile, improve to 21-2.
USC struck first when it received a goal from Joelle Bekhazi 23 seconds into the game. The Aztecs, however, would counter with Leanne Ford's 43rd goal of the year and Kimmy Keach's successful attempt with 3:45 left in the quarter to take a 2-1 lead.
Up by a goal, the Aztecs looked to carry their momentum into the second quarter, but the Women of Troy opened the period like the first and tied the score thanks to Alexandra Kiss. SDSU moved ahead on the scoreboard once again when Melissa de Jonckheere gathered a rebound and put her shot past USC goalie Tumua Anae, giving San Diego State a 3-2 lead. The cushion was short-lived for the Aztecs as Southern California scored four answered goals until Alex Ford rattled the cage with 38 seconds left before halftime. Kristen Dronberger tacked on another goal for USC on its last possession to take a 7-4 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Women of Troy were aggressive on both sides of the ball and wound up scoring nine straight times dating back to Dronberger's late-second-period goal. In the third quarter alone, USC scored five times while preventing the Aztecs from entering the scoring column to take a 12-4 after 24 minutes. Then in the final period, USC scored its seventh, eighth and ninth unanswered goals before Rachel Miller put an end to the San Diego State scoring drought with her penalty shot with eight seconds left in regulation to provide the final margin.
The Aztecs will be back in action on the campus of UCLA on Saturday morning when they take on sixth-seeded San Jose State at 11:30 a.m. PT.
2010 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship
(2) No. 2 USC 15, (7) No. 12 San Diego State 5
Quarterfinal Round - Spieker Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
SDSU 2-2-0-1--5
USC 1-6-5-3--15
SDSU goals: Leanne Ford, Kimmy Keach, Melissa de Jonckheere, Alex Ford, Rachel Miller
USC goals: Alexandra Kiss 3, Kami Craig 2, Dominique Sardo 2, Joelle Bekhazi 2, Patricia Jancso 2, Nicolina McCall, Kristen Dronberger, Forel Davis, Sarah Van Norman
SDSU saves: Kelly Campoli 8
USC saves: Tumua Anae 9