Feb. 10, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Women's Water Polo Weekly Release
Game Week Preview
No. 18 San Diego State (1-3) at Triton Invitational
Saturday, Feb. 13 | vs. No. 16 LMU (2-4) | Canyonview Pool | La Jolla, Calif. | 9:50 a.m. PT
Saturday, Feb. 13 | vs. Somona St. (1-4)/No. 1 UCLA (4-0) | Canyonview Pool | La Jolla, Calif. | 1:50/3:10 p.m. PT
Sunday, Feb. 14 | vs. TBD | Canyonview Pool or Triton Pool | La Jolla, Calif. | TBD
Sunday, Feb. 14 | vs. TBD | Canyonview Pool or Triton Pool | La Jolla, Calif. | TBD
Storylines
- No. 18 San Diego State returns to action this weekend with a short trip to La Jolla for the Triton Invitational on the campus of UC San Diego. The Aztecs are set to play two games on Saturday vs. No. 16 LMU and either Sonoma State or No. 1 UCLA, and another two on Sunday.
- SDSU will face Division I competition for the first time in two weeks after only competing against the Chinese National Team last Saturday at Aztec Aquaplex. San Diego State held a 3-2 lead after one quarter, but was outscored 15-3 the rest of the way en route to a 17-6 defeat.
- In the loss to the Chinese National Team, Caroline Israels scored four of the Aztecs' six goals, including all three in the first quarter. Single goals from Hannah Carrillo and Courtney Jarvis rounded out the scoring for SDSU. Rachel Mitchell, meanwhile, shared time in net with Kathleen McDonnell. Mitchell played three quarters and finished with seven saves, and McDonnell tallied four stops.
- San Diego State is looking to snap a two-game skid when it jumps into the pool with fellow Golden Coast member LMU on Saturday morning. The Aztecs split their first two games at the Michigan Invitational, losing to the No. 7 Wolverines and beating No. 17 Hartwick, before dropping games No. 24 Marist and No. 11 UC Santa Barbara.
- The victory over the Hawks saw the Aztecs turn what was a 4-4 game after one period into game that was not as close as the 15-12 score would indicate. San Diego State found the back of the net seven times in the second quarter to take an 11-7 lead at halftime and was never threatened the rest of the way.
- In their three losses in Ann Arbor, the Aztecs lost by a combined six goals. San Diego State was in striking distance against Michigan, trailing 8-7 heading into the final period before falling, 12-9. In the game vs. the Red Foxes, SDSU trailed, 8-5, with 4:31 left, but could only muster one additional goal as it lost, 8-6. Then in the finale vs. UCSB, the Aztecs were down, 9-8, with 4:40 remaining, but could not find the equalizer before losing by the 9-8 margin.
- After its weekend in Michigan, SDSU's leading scorer was Ioli Benekou, who had nine goals on 15 attempts for a team-best .600 goal percentage. Taylor Gums led all players with six assists, while Israels and Nikole Ferrari shared team-high honors with eight steals apiece. Ferrari (5 goals, 5 assists, 8 steals) enters this week's action as the only Aztec with at least five goals, five assists and five steals. Mitchell played every second between the pipes and had 44 saves.
- The match-up with LMU will pit two teams that earned the most first-place votes in the preseason Golden Coast coaches poll. The Lions and Aztecs picked up three first-place tallies apiece with Pacific taking the final two considerations. LMU and UOP, however, finished in a first-place tie with 43 points. SDSU came in third with 41 points.
- The San Diego State-Loyola Marymount game will mark the sixth meeting between the teams since the start of the 2014 campaign, which was the inaugural Golden Coast Conference season. The Lions are 3-2 vs. the Aztecs in the previous five games with four being decided by one goal. The lone outlier was last year's GCC championship game, one in which LMU won, 9-5. The composite score of the last five games: LMU 37, SDSU 33.
- More intrigue for Saturday morning: San Diego State has won the last two Golden Coast regular-season titles after going 6-0 in each of the years. Loyola Marymount has defeated SDSU in the last two GCC championship games.
- The Aztecs will be making an appearance at the Triton Invitational for the 22nd straight year. In the previous 21 seasons, San Diego State has posted a 55-34 record at the event. Last year, SDSU went 2-2 after beating UC Santa Barbara, losing to Arizona State and UC San Diego, and finishing by downing Hartwick.
- The Aztecs' potential foes on Saturday afternoon could not be more different in terms of frequency of meetings. San Diego State has not seen Sonoma State since the 2012 Triton Invitational and has only faced the Seawolves three times (all wins). UCLA, meanwhile, is a team the Aztecs have faced 43 times and have played them at least once in each of the last 21 years.
Opponent Notebook
LMU - The Lions have lost four straight after being swept at the Stanford Tournament last week (SJSU, Michigan, Stanford, UOP). ... LMU has not won since defeating Concordia and Redlands at the Lancer Mini Tournament on Jan. 30.
Sonoma State - The Seawolves ended a four-game losing streak on Jan. 23 with a 13-7 home win over Cal State Monterey Bay. ... SSU opened the season with four losses (SJSU, Bakersfield, California, UOP) at SJSU's Loustrong Memorial on Jan. 16-17.
UCLA - The Bruins have yet to taste defeat, winning four consecutive games (Hawai'i, UCSB, LBSU, Michigan) at the UCSB Winter Invitational on Jan. 23-24. ... On Jan. 30, UCLA scrimmaged Team USA and was on the short end of a 13-4 score.