March 19, 2015
LOS ANGELES - Junior Taylor Gums (Lodi, Calif.) scored a goal with 28 seconds left in regulation during a 6-on-5 opportunity to lift the 17th-ranked San Diego State water polo team to a 9-8 triumph over No. 12 Loyola Marymount in a Golden Coast Conference showdown Thursday at Burns Aquatic Center.
With the victory, the Aztecs even their record at 11-11 on the year and remain unbeaten in league play at 4-0, while the Lions slip to 13-7 overall and 0-1 in the GCC.
The SDSU offense was paced by sophomore Caroline Israels (Pompano Beach, Fla.), who dented the scoreboard with three goals for her fifth hat trick of the year, while junior Alyssa Diacono (Ladera Ranch, Calif.) added two strikes of her own.
Conversely, LMU was led by Mackenzie Beck's three-goal performance, while Laura Lopez twice found the back of the cage in a contest that witnessed six ties and three lead changes.
The Aztecs forged a pair of two-goal leads, including a 5-3 spread following a power-play goal by Ioli Benekou (Marousi, Greece) with five minutes remaining in the third period. However, the Lions stole the momentum at this juncture, scoring four of the game's next five goals, capped by Kiana Etrata's conversion during a man-up situation with 6:33 left in the fourth quarter to give the host school a 7-6 advantage.
SDSU responded with two quick goals by Diacono and Israels a minute-and-a-half apart, before LMU knotted things up at 8-8 on a Lopez shot with just 1:03 left. Moments later, the Aztecs drew an ejection on the Lions' Caitlin Schafer and promptly called timeout, setting the stage for Gums' heroics.
Junior goalkeeper Rachel Mitchell (Danville, Calif.) made eight saves in the net for the Scarlet and Black, while senior Anique Hermann (San Diego, Calif.) drew four ejections.
The Aztecs will remain at Burns Aquatics Center on Friday to compete in the LMU Invitational. SDSU will square off against Concordia (Calif.) at 9:15 a.m. PT, followed by a clash with Brown University at 1 p.m.
No. 17 SAN DIEGO STATE 9, No. 12 LOYOLA MARYMOUNT 8Burns Aquatics Center; Los Angeles, Calif.
SDSU 3-0-3-3 -- 9LMU 2-1-3-2 -- 8
SDSU GoalsIsraels 3, Diacono 2, Benekou 1, Carballo 1, Ferrari 1, Gums 1
LMU GoalsBeck 3, Lopez 2, Byrne 1, Castro 1, Etrata 1
SDSU SavesMitchell 8
LMU SavesWhite 9