April 3, 2011
SAN DIEGO - The 11th-ranked San Diego State water polo team picked up a pair of wins on Saturday afternoon at the Aztec Aquaplex. SDSU defeated No. 8 Arizona State, 9-7, to get its first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation victory and then easily cruised to a 22-6 victory against Fresno Pacific. With the wins, the Aztecs improve to 19-10; 1-4 in MPSF.
SDSU wasted little time against ASU, taking an early 1-0 lead on a penalty shot by Leanne Ford with 7:31 remaining in the opening quarter. ASU didn't back down though, scoring about 30 seconds later when Shannon Haas converted a 6-on-5 player opportunity. Both teams would remain in a defensive stalemate until Leanne Ford scored her second goal of the afternoon on a power play with 3:24 remaining. Sarah Brady then put the Aztecs up 2-1 on a lob shot with a little more than a minute in the first quarter.
Once again, SDSU got off to a fast start 30 seconds into the second quarter with a score by Samantha Voigt. Both teams remained scoreless until the 3:54 mark when Meaghan Poland fired a shot into the corner of the net to give the Aztecs a 4-1 advantage. ASU quickly responded with a goal, but SDSU answered back with a successful 6-on-5 conversion by Brady to extend the lead back to three. Then with under a minute remaining in the first half, Leanne Ford completed a hat trick to give the Aztecs a 7-2 halftime lead.
SDSU didn't get on the scoreboard as early in the third, but eventually found the back of the net when Alex Ford notched a goal with 5:36 remaining. After ASU converted a penalty shot, Ronni Gautschi scored the last goal of the day for the Aztecs. From that point, the Sun Devils began a comeback attempt that started with consecutive goals in the final 1:30 of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, ASU appeared to have gained momentum with two more goals in the opening minutes. But that was all the Sun Devils could put together as Kelly Campoli and the SDSU defense stepped it up to seal the 9-7 victory.
Against Fresno Pacific, the Aztecs came out firing on all cylinders. SDSU scored six goals in the first and third quarters and five in the second and fourth for a 22-6 win. Brady led the team with a hat trick while Leanne Ford, Amber Pezzolla, Rachel Miller, Courtney Muller and Kim Lewis each notched two goals.
San Diego State has the week off before returning to the pool next Saturday, April 9 when the team travels to Berkeley for a 1 p.m. PT matchup with Cal.
No. 11 San Diego State 9, No. 8 Arizona State 7
Aztec Aquaplex - San Diego, Calif.
ASU 1-1-3-2--7
SDSU 3-4-2-0--9
ASU goals: Nikki Unbehaun 2, Shannon Haas, Mariam Salloum, Kelsey White, Morgan Leech, Sarah Harris
SDSU goals: Leanne Ford 3, Sarah Brady 2, Samantha Voigt, Meaghan Poland, Alex Ford, Ronni Gautschi
ASU saves: Ianeta Hutchinson - 6
SDSU saves: Kelly Campoli - 15
No. 11 San Diego State 22, Fresno Pacific 6
Aztec Aquaplex - San Diego, Calif.
Fresno Pacific 2-0-2-2--6
SDSU 6-5-6-5--22
FPU goals: Michelle Kaplan 2, Jenn Wolter, Nicolette Haley, Melissa Perry, Maggie Murray
SDSU goals: Sarah Brady 3, Leanne Ford 2, Amber Pezzolla 2, Rachel Miller 2, Courtney Muller 2, Kim Lewis 2, Ashley Novack, Alex Ford, Ashley deGoede, Jenna Natalizio, Ronni Gautschi, Meaghan Poland, Kimmy Keach, Emily Whalen, Meghann Pedersen
FPU saves: Charissa Gurnea - 3, Dani Mortimer - 2
SDSU saves: Kelly Campoli - 6, Clair Babinski - 6