Feb. 14, 2016
SAN DIEGO - No. 18 San Diego State and No. 17 Indiana were tied at 5-5 entering the fourth quarter, but the Hoosiers outscored the Aztecs, 3-1, to finish off SDSU, 8-6, in the ninth-place game of the UCSD Triton Invitational. The loss snapped the Aztecs' two-game winning streak and dropped them to 3-5 on the season.
The game started off on a promising note for San Diego State as it scored the first two goals of the game following successful strikes from Alyssa Diacono and Taylor Gums. Indiana's Kate Pipkin briefly halted SDSU's momentum with a goal, but Diacono closed the frame with her second of the evening.
Defense took center stage in the second quarter as neither team dented the scoreboard for the first six-plus minutes. Sarah Young ended the drought and was the only player to score, which cut San Diego State's lead to 3-2 at halftime.
The adjustments that were made at halftime immediately paid dividends for the Aztecs as Ioli Benekou doubled their advantage 29 seconds into the second half. For Indiana, the adjustments were slower to evolve, but they proved fruitful as Candyce Schroeder and Jennifer Beadle posted back-to-back goals to tie the score at 4 apiece. Then in the final three minutes, Makena Magro gave SDSU a one-goal lead, which was short-lived as Sarah Meyers provided the game the aforementioned 5-5 score.
In the deciding the fourth period, Indiana took its first lead off Young's second goal of the day, but Diacono answered with a hat trick. Then in the final 5:43, the Hoosiers received the game-winning goal from Kelly Matthews and added on an insurance goal from Meyers. Unfortunately for the Aztecs, they were unable to find the back of the net in the final 2:15 to suffer their second defeat of the tournament.
San Diego State will return to action on Friday, Feb. 26, when it opens Golden Coast Conference play at Concordia. First sprint in Irvine is set for 1:30 p.m. PT.
No. 17 Indiana 8, No. 18 San Diego State 6
Canyonview Pool; San Diego, Calif.
SDSU 3-0-2-1—6
IU 1-1-3-3—8
SDSU goals: Alyssa Diacono 3, Ioli Benekou 1, Taylor Gums 1, Makena Magro 1
IU goals: Sarah Meyers 2, Sarah Young 2, Jennifer Beadle 1 Kelly Matthews 1, Kate Pipkin 1, Candyce Schroeder 1
SDSU saves: Unavailable
IU saves: Unavailable