March 29, 2014
SAN DIEGO - No. T-20 San Diego State water polo defeated Brown, 10-5, Saturday morning at Aztec Aquaplex. SDSU rallied from a first-quarter deficit to post its 18th win of the season (18-10), while the Bears fall to 12-12.
Brown struck first when Kate Woods skipped a shot underneath the outstretched arm of SDSU goalkeeper Emily Tylka with 5:33 left in the first. San Diego State, however, responded with a pair of long-distance strikes from Ioli Benekou and a Caroline Israels laser just as the first-quarter horn sounded to propel the Aztecs to a 3-1 lead.
Anique Hermann made it a three-goal game when she scored on SDSU's first possession of the second frame. After three scoreless minutes, Brown scored out of a timeout (Sarah Presant) in a power-play situation to get within two, but the Aztecs received a fast-break goal when Hermann found Israels, who completed sequence as SDSU went into halftime up, 5-2.
The Bears began a rally in the third quarter with goals from Emily McNamara and Presant to help them cut their deficit to one. Israels, however, stopped the brief comeback when her shot deflected off Brown goalkeeper Sarah Shin's hand to record a hat trick with five minutes left. SDSU ended the period with goals from Alyssa Diacono and Israels to double up Brown, 8-4.
In the fourth quarter, San Diego State turned it up a notch, forcing a turnover and turning it into a fastbreak goal from Hermann. Then Diacono converted a vicious backhand from set that surprised Shin as the Aztecs went ahead, 10-5. SDSU was poised to get out of the quarter unscathed, but Rebecca Zak's shot floated past the goal line with 2:30 left, which ultimately provided the final margin.
San Diego State returns to action next Saturday when it plays host to LMU at Aztec Aquaplex. The final home game of the season is set for a 1 p.m. PT start.
No. T-20 San Diego State 10, Brown 5
Aztec Aquaplex; San Diego, Calif.
BROWN 1-1-2-1--5
SDSU 3-2-3-2--10
Brown goals: Presant 2, Woods, McNamara, Zak
SDSU goals: Israels 4, Benekou 2, Hermann 2, Diacono 2
Brown saves: Shin 9
SDSU saves: Tylka 9