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