March 22, 2013
SAN DIEGO - The seventh-ranked San Diego State water polo team faced No. 9 Long Beach State on Friday afternoon and defeated its fellow Big West member, the 49ers, 6-5, at Aztec Aquaplex. With the win, SDSU improves to 16-7 and 3-1 in conference play as Long Beach State drops to 19-4 on the season.
The 49ers got out to an early lead as Justine Morgan found the back of the net with just under seven minutes left in the first period. Nearly two minutes later, Long Beach State's Christina Kotsia extended the lead with the 49ers' second goal of the period.
San Diego State's Emily Whalen would put the Aztecs on the board at the 4:05 mark in the second period. Whalen's goal would be the only goal for both teams in the second quarter. SDSU would come out charging, in the second half, determined to get the win.
At the 5:45 mark in the third, Taelor Moreno would score her first goal of the afternoon to even the score to 2-2. Moreno's second goal came at 3:02 left in the third, and gave San Diego State its first lead of the day. Amber Pezzolla tallied another point for SDSU, her first and only goal of the day, and the third of the period.
Long Beach State would not go away quietly and came back to score three goals in the final quarter. Kotsia posted her second goal of the day to bring the score to 3-4, still in the Aztecs' favor. The 49ers' Kayla Robert would tie things up at 4-4 with 3:17 remaining on the clock.
Moreno continued her dominant performance and banked another goal for SDSU with 2:50 left in the fourth. Moreno would come back once more and complete her stellar play with San Diego State's sixth goal at 1:55 on the clock.
Attempting a rally, Robert scored for Long Beach State just 15 seconds later but the 49ers would not score again. The Aztecs were able to run out the clock and escape with the win.
SDSU will return to the pool tomorrow, March 23, to take on Brown at 2 pm and Redlands at 5 pm. Both games will be at Aztec Aquaplex.
No. 7 San Diego State 6, No. 9 Long Beach State 5
Aztec Aquaplex - San Diego, Calif.
LBSU 2-0-0-3 -- 5
SDSU 0-1-3-2 -- 6
LBSU goals: Morgan, Robert 2, Kotsia
SDSU goals: Moreno 4, Pezzolla, Whalen