April 10, 2012
SAN DIEGO - The nationally ranked San Diego State women's water polo team will start a season-ending three-game road trip on Saturday when it travels to Orange, Calif. The Aztecs will face the hosts, Chapman, at 11 a.m. PT, before returning to take on Redlands at 3 p.m. PT.
SDSU (18-9) is on the verge of its seventh consecutive 20-win season after defeating No. 19 Cal Baptist, 4-2, on Senior Day last Friday. The game was scoreless for the first 13 minutes, 46 seconds, until Amber Pezzolla scored on a penalty shot. The score was tied at 2-2, but the Aztecs never lost their lead and received the game-winner from Leanne Ford, who also scored on a penalty attempt, early in the fourth quarter.
Ford led all players with two goals, both of which came on 5-meter ejections drawn by Anique Hermann. Pezzolla and Meaghan Poland, meanwhile, added single goals for San Diego State. Goalkeeper Kelly Campoli made 12 stops in the cage in her final regular-season home game.
The Aztecs travel north to face a Chapman side that is 13-9 on the season, including a 9-4 record at home. The Panthers are coming off a 16-6 home victory over Vanguard back on March 31 and have won four of their last five at home. Prior to Chapman's clash with SDSU, the Panthers will play at Caltech on Friday.
The meeting with Chapman will be the third in the history of the series and first since 2008. In the last get-together, the Aztecs defeated the Panthers, 12-2, in a neutral-site contest at UC San Diego. The programs also met at the LMU Invitational in 2006 and SDSU emerged with a 14-3 victory.
Redlands, meanwhile, is 13-13 on the season and is fresh off a 10-8 overtime win at Occidental last Saturday. The Bulldogs are 4-5 in neutral-site games this season, but have been victorious in four of their last five at neutral pools. Redlands will play at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Wednesday and at Caltech on Saturday morning before facing SDSU in the afternoon.
The Aztecs last faced Redlands during the 2010 campaign where they earned a 15-3 win in the opening game of the UCSD Triton Invitational. The schools have met seven previous times with San Diego State leading the all-time series, 6-1. SDSU's lone defeat occurred at the 2002 Long Beach State Invitational where the Bulldogs escaped with the 7-6 decision.
Following the short ride to Orange County, the Aztecs will wrap up the regular season at UC San Diego on Friday, April 20, when the schools will battle for the Harper Cup. First sprint is set for 6 p.m. PT.