March 28, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Women's Water Polo Weekly Notes
Game Week Preview
No. 19 San Diego State (8-12) at No. 21 Long Beach State (12-8)
Thursday, March 31 | Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center | Long Beach, Calif. | Noon PT
No. 19 San Diego State (8-12) vs. Brown (5-13)
Thursday, March 31 | Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center | Long Beach, Calif. | 3 p.m. PT
No. 1 USC (15-0) at No. 19 San Diego State (8-12)
Saturday, April 2 | Aztec Aquaplex | San Diego, Calif. | 10 a.m. PT
Fresno Pacific (9-9; 1-1 GCC) at No. 19 San Diego State (8-12; 2-0 GCC)
Saturday, April 2 | Aztec Aquaplex | San Diego, Calif. | 1 p.m. PT
Storylines
- No. 19 San Diego State returns to action this week following a 12-day layoff with four games split between two southern California cities. The Aztecs will face No. 21 Long Beach State and Brown in Long Beach on Thursday, March 31, before playing host to No. 1 USC and Fresno Pacific at Aztec Aquaplex on Saturday, April 2.
- The Aztecs will hop back into the pool for the first time since a 9-5 setback at No. 8 California back on March 19. SDSU trailed early and could not rally for the victory. Caroline Israels led SDSU with two goals and the Aztecs received single tallies from Ioli Benekou, Nikole Ferrari and Tayla Walsh. Rachel Mitchell, meanwhile, made 12 saves between the pipes.
- San Diego State opens the week in a familiar place -- the road. Of the Aztecs' 20 games played this season, 16 have taken place away from SDSU's on-campus home, Aztec Aquaplex. San Diego State played its first 15 contests away from home and did not make its home debut until March 12. SDSU is 6-10 in road/neutral games and 2-2 at Aztec Aquaplex.
- After the trip to Long Beach on Thursday, San Diego State will make just its third appearance at home on Saturday against the Women of Troy and Golden Coast Conference foe Fresno Pacific. The Aztecs will look to improve to 3-0 in league action and 15-0 all-time in GCC games when the Sunbirds visit.
- San Diego State will look to avenge last season's 5-4 home loss to Long Beach State on Thursday. In that game, the Aztecs scored first, but went through a lengthy scoring drought. SDSU trailed, 3-1, at halftime and did not score until the third quarter. The Aztecs entered the fourth quarter tied at 3, but the 49ers outscored SDSU, 2-1, in the period and Israels' game-tying attempt with 15 second left was stopped as LBSU escaped with the victory.
- San Diego State is meeting Brown for a fourth consecutive season. In the three previous games, the Aztecs allowed five Bear goals while reaching the double-figure mark themselves. In 2013, SDSU defeated Brown, 11-5, at the Aztec Mini Tournament. In 2014, the Aztecs downed the Bears, 10-5, in a non-league game at Aztec Aquaplex. And then last year, San Diego State took an 11-5 decision at the LMU Invitational.
- SDSU will reacquaint itself with USC for the first time since the 2013 campaign. Three season ago, the Aztecs faced the Women of Troy twice, once at the UCSD Triton Invitational in the winner's bracket and once at UC Irvine Invitational. Both games took place in a 13-day span. USC earned 12-3 and 17-5 decisions, respectively.
- San Diego State will look to continue its dominance over Fresno Pacific. The schools are two of the original members of the Golden Coast Conference. Since the league was formed in time for the 2014 campaign, the Aztecs have put together two impressive performances. SDSU posted a 20-1 victory in the inaugural meeting before putting together a 16-3 effort last season in Fresno.
Opponent Notebook
Long Beach State - The 49ers welcome the Aztecs having won seven of their last eight games... Long Beach State is coming off an 11-5 loss at California on Monday... LBSU is 3-0 on the season at home (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Bucknell, Chapman), outscoring its foes by a combined score of 33-9.
Brown - The Bears are 5-13, but have played better recently... Brown is 5-3 in its last eight games... The Bears will play five games in three games starting on Monday before facing San Diego State in Long Beach... Brown is currently on a nine-game California road swing, which started on Saturday with an 11-8 loss at Whittier.
USC - The Women of Troy have not experienced defeat this season, winning all 15 of their games... Similar to the Aztecs, the road is a familiar place for USC as it has played 12 of its 15 games away from campus... USC is coming off an 11-6 road victory at San José State on Saturday.
Fresno Pacific - The Sunbirds have split their last four games, two of which were Golden Coast Conference games... Fresno Pacific dropped its GCC opener to Loyola Marymount before downing Concordia... Since those two games, FPU lost to CSU Bakersfield and beat Cal State Monterey Bay at home... Before traveling to San Diego State, the Sunbirds will face conference foe California Baptist in Riverside on Friday.