Jan. 31, 2012
SAN DIEGO - No. 8 San Diego State will put its season-opening three-game winning streak on the line this Saturday when it faces No. 16 Long Beach State at the 49ers' Campus Pool. First sprint is set for noon PT.
The Aztecs are coming off a perfect 3-0 season-opening weekend at Maryland's Terrapin Invitational last week. SDSU dominated the field as evidenced by its 15-1 victory over Marist, 13-7 win vs. Wagner and 8-4 effort over Maryland, which was receiving votes in the top-20 poll.
Senior All-American Meaghan Poland was dominant as she netted 14 goals on 25 shot attempts. The Wildomar, Calif., native scored a career-high-tying five goals against Marist and Wagner and wrapped up her weekend with a four-goal performance vs. the Terrapins.
Fellow All-Americans Leanne Ford and Amber Pezzolla were also solid in their season debuts as both scored five goals over the course of the three games. Ford added three assists and four steals, while Pezzolla racked up four assists and a team-high 13 steals. Alex Ford, meanwhile, assisted on 10 goals.
The fourth All-American on the squad, senior goalkeeper Kelly Campoli, was up to her old tricks as she tallied 27 saves while playing just 10 of the 12 quarters. She played the first three quarters against Marist and Wagner before giving way to Morgan Klingfus, and played the full game vs. Maryland.
Klingfus' freshman teammate, Anique Hermann, was impressive in her first collegiate action. The San Diego native won the opening sprint of her first career game against Marist, beat her defender and scored her and the team's first goal of the season in all of 10 seconds. For the weekend, Hermann notched two goals, four steals and drew six ejections.
Long Beach State, meanwhile, opened at No. 14 in the preseason poll before falling two spots to No. 16 despite not playing. The 49ers' game vs. the Aztecs is their season opener and comes a season after they nearly qualified for the NCAA Tournament. LBSU won a pair of one-goal games to reach the 2011 Big West Tournament championship before falling to UC Irvine, 11-5.
Following their brief trip to Long Beach, the Aztecs will return to Montezuma Mesa to prepare for its home opener on Thursday, Feb. 9, against No. 12 Hartwick. SDSU's first regular-season home appearance is set for a 3 p.m. PT start at Aztec Aquaplex.