Water Polo Splits Opening Day at Aztec Invitational
Water Polo

Water Polo Splits Opening Day at Aztec Invitational

Water Polo Splits Opening Day at Aztec InvitationalWater Polo Splits Opening Day at Aztec Invitational

March 13, 2016

SAN DIEGO - The No. 20 San Diego State water polo team split its opening day at the Aztec Invitational, held at the Aztec Aquaplex, on Saturday. The Aztecs enjoyed a four-goal performance by Caroline Israels in a 9-5 come-from-behind victory over No. 18 Harvard to kick off the tournament, but fell to No. 14 Princeton, 8-5, in the nightcap.

In the Aztecs' opening game, Yoshi Anderson's markers put Harvard up 2-0 in the first quarter.

But San Diego State fought back in the second quarter to double up on the Crimson and take a 4-2 advantage. Israels netted a goal 2:13 into the frame and tacked on the equalizer with 3:50 remaining in the second quarter. Additional tallies by Ioli Benekou and Alyssa Diacono would give the Aztecs a commanding lead.

SDSU's momentum continued to the second half, where Israels' third of the game handed the Scarlet and Black a 5-2 lead. However, Harvard would net a pair in the third quarter to make it a one goal game to start the final frame.

San Diego State responded convincingly, with goals by Diacono and Hannah Carrillo allowing San Diego State to go up 7-4 with just under five minutes remaining in regulation.

Harvard would tack on a fifth tally with 2:24 on the clock. But 17 seconds later, Carrillo found the back of the net for SDSU's eighth of the game and less than a minute later, Israels' fourth of the game would be good for the final 9-5 score.

In the Aztecs' second game of the day, SDSU was unable to overpower the Tigers, despite a three-goal effort by Israels.

The teams traded goals throughout the first half, with San Diego State talking a 3-2 lead into halftime.

Just under two minutes into the third, Nikole Ferrari put the Scarlet and Black up by a pair, but Princeton closed the deficit in a 36-second span for the 4-4 knotted score. Israels' third of the game allowed SDSU a 5-4 lead with 4:24 remaining in the third quarter.

But Princeton proceeded to shut the Aztecs out for the final 12 minutes of the game, tying the match at 5-5 with three minutes remaining in the third quarter, en route to the 8-5 win.

San Diego State closes out the Aztec Invitational at Aztec Aquaplex with a 9 a.m. contest on Sunday against T-No. 16 Indiana before closing out the day at 2 p.m. against Bucknell.

Aztec Invitational
Day One
Aztec Aquaplex; San Diego, Calif.

No. 20 SAN DIEGO STATE 9, No. 18 HARVARD 5

HARVARD 2-0-2-1 -- 5 SDSU 0-4-1-4 -- 9

SDSU Goals Israels 4, Carrillo 2, Diacono 2, Benekou 1

Harvard Goals Anderson 2, Hendrix 1, Balding 1, Hong 1

No. 20 SAN DIEGO STATE 5, No. 14 PRINCETON 8

PRINCETON 1-2-4-1 -- 8 SDSU 2-0-3-0 -- 5

SDSU Goals Israels 3, Ferrari 1, Diacono 1

Princeton Goals Wan 2, Britt 1, Cheong 1, Hallock 1, Kelleher 1, Saxe 1, Smith 1