March 15, 2014
SAN DIEGO - The No. 19 San Diego State women's water polo team split two games in the first day of the Aztec Invitational on Saturday afternoon, defeating Harvard, 7-5, after falling to No. T-20 Wagner, 6-5, at Aztec Aquaplex.
In the Invite's final match of the day, SDSU got goals from sophomore Taylor Gums and junior Anique Hermann in the final 4:29 to break a 5-5 tie with Harvard and win by two. Freshman Caroline Israels scored two goals in the third period to put the Aztecs ahead, 5-4, going into the fourth, while junior Carina Carballo scored two goals in the first period to give San Diego State an early 3-1 lead.
Sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Mitchell recorded five saves, including two in the fourth period to help preserve the victory. Hermann made three of her five shots attempts and also tallied a team-high five steals, while sophomores Nikole Ferrari and Claire McKinnon finished with four steals apiece.
The Aztecs lost a close match to Wagner in their first game of the day, as Israels' shot hit the post with 16 seconds remaining and the Seahawks held on for the win. Freshman Ioli Benekou scored three goals, two coming in the third quarter to pull SDSU within one at 5-4.
Sophomore Nika Sedghi scored with 1:34 remaining in the fourth period to make it 7-6, but SDSU wasn't able to tie it up. Freshman Alyssa Diacono scored two goals in the game, while Mitchell recorded eight saves and both Hermann and Carballo finished with three steals.
The Aztec Invitational resumes on Sunday morning, starting with No. 10 San Jose State taking on Wagner at 8 a.m. San Diego State takes on Bucknell at 10:30 a.m., before playing No. 8 Princeton at 4:45 p.m.