Feb. 7, 2012
SAN DIEGO - The eighth-ranked San Diego State water polo team is set to play host to No. 13 Hartwick in its 3 p.m. PT home opener Thursday afternoon at Aztec Aquaplex. On Saturday, SDSU will travel to La Jolla for the two-day Triton Invitational, which begins Saturday at 10:40 a.m. PT vs. Sonoma State.
The Aztecs are 4-0 for the first time since 2009 when they started the campaign with six consecutive victories. SDSU is making its first regular season appearance on campus after claiming three wins at the Terrapin Invitational two weeks ago and defeating No. 15 Long Beach State on the road last Saturday.
Senior Meaghan Poland has led the way for San Diego State as she has scored at least four goals in each game. The Wildomar, Calif., native has scored a career-high five goals in three of the team's outings and has a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation-best 19 goals despite SDSU playing the fewest amount of games. Poland is averaging 4.75 goals per game, which puts her ahead of second-place KK Clark of UCLA (2.57) in the MPSF rankings.
Junior Amber Pezzolla ranks second on the club with seven goals and eighth in the MPSF with an average of 1.75 goals per game. Pezzolla also has a team-high 16 steals. Senior Leanne Ford, who scored the game-winner at Long Beach State with 70 seconds left in regulation, has six goals to her credit.
Freshmen Anique Hermann and Taelor Moreno have blended in nicely with their new teammates as each has scored five goals apiece. Hermann, from San Diego, tied the game twice in the fourth quarter at LBSU, which later allowed Leanne Ford to score the game-winning goal. A week earlier, Hermann won the opening sprint in the season opener vs. Marist and scored 10 seconds into the game.
As mentioned earlier, SDSU is fresh off a thrilling 13-12 win at Long Beach State. The Aztecs led for a majority of the game until the 49ers tied the game at the end of three quarters. LBSU took a two-goal lead in the fourth and San Diego State was forced to rally and eventually escaped with victory No. 4. Senior goalkeeper Kelly Campoli was solid in net, making 16 saves to give her 43 on the year.
The Aztecs are looking to win their sixth consecutive home opener against a Hartwick side that is 2-1 after defeating Redlands, 14-9, and No. 20 Cal State Northridge in overtime, 14-11. The Hawks' lone loss was sandwiched between the two wins and came at the hands of No. 7 UC Irvine, 20-5. All three games were played in Riverside, Calif. The last time these schools met, Hartwick came away with a 12-11 victory at the 2010 Triton Invitational. In the Hawks' last visit to Aztec Aquaplex, however, SDSU emerged with a 15-12 decision in the 2009 season opener.
After Thursday's home opener, San Diego State will begin competition at the Triton Invitational at nearby UC San Diego on Saturday. The field features four four-team brackets and SDSU is in Bracket C with Hartwick, Cal State Northridge and Sonoma State. The Aztecs open vs. Sonoma State and will play either Cal State Northridge or Hartwick at either 4 p.m. PT or 5:20 p.m. PT at Canyonview Pool. Sunday's schedule will depend on Saturday's results.
Following this week's busy slate, San Diego State will return home and open MPSF action against No. 4 UCLA on Saturday, Feb. 18, at noon PT. A season ago, the Bruins finished in third place at the NCAA Championship.