May 1, 2011
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San Diego State women's water polo team concluded play at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament on Sunday with an 11-9 loss to Arizona State. The defeat brings to a close a 2011 campaign that saw the Aztecs go 20-15 (1-6 MPSF).
SDSU began Sunday's seventh-place match in unfamiliar territory: the wrong side of the scoreboard. ASU's Lynlee Smith gave the Sun Devils a 1-0 lead at the 3:19 mark, beating junior goalkeeper Kelly Campoli. Smith's goal broke a streak of nine straight quarters in which SDSU scored first. Then, in what could be her final game for the Aztecs, senior Sarah Brady struck back at 2:58 to tie the game. ASU, in turn, made quick work in their response, scoring at 2:16 before junior Meaghan Poland found the back of the net at 1:25.
In the second quarter, ASU put together a two-goal run before SDSU leading scorer Leanne Ford put the Aztecs within one at 3:05. The Sun Devils would get one more goal with under a minute left, making the score 5-3 entering halftime.
Following the intermission, Poland's second of the game brought the Aztecs within one at 4:40, but ASU came back within the following minute to extend their lead back to two. Refusing to be denied, Poland once again made an impressive individual effort to put SDSU back within striking distance. The Sun Devils proved to be just as determined, however, scoring three goals in a one-minute span to make the score 9-5 with 38 seconds remaining in the quarter. ASU would then commit a costly error via an ejection, leading to a Brady power play goal with six ticks left on the clock, setting up an interesting scenario for the final frame.
ASU wasted no time following the break, scoring at 6:35 to give them a four point lead. The Aztecs would then once again capitalize on the power play, this time with Poland's fourth goal of the game. Following a Mariam Salloum goal that made the score 11-7 midway through the quarter, SDSU would continue their success on the man-advantage with scores by Ford, her second, and Poland, her team-high fifth. Time would then run out on an SDSU comeback as the Sun Devils prevailed, 11-9.
The loss marks the first time in the history of the MPSF Tournament that the Aztecs have finished last in the eight-team tournament.
Following the game, SDSU head coach Carin Crawford shared her thoughts on the team's performance.
"I thought we played a pretty good game," said Crawford. "We had a little lapse there in the third quarter that really changed the momentum toward ASU. We scored to get within a goal, which put us a pretty good position. It would have been nice to hold that deficit going into the fourth quarter, but we weren't able to do that. The momentum changed and we weren't able to overcome it."
Arizona State 11, San Diego State 9
The Aquatics Center - San Jose, Calif.
ASU 2-3-4-2--11
SDSU 2-1-3-3--9
ASU goals: Smith 4, Harris 2, Salloum 2, White 2, Unbehaun
SDSU goals: Poland 5, Brady 2, L. Ford 2
ASU saves: Hutchinson - 11
SDSU saves: Abrams - 7