April 16, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
No. 19 LMU-No. 14 San Diego State Final Box
No. 14 San Diego State claimed the outright Golden Coast Conference regular-season title and went undefeated in league action for the third straight season after earning a 6-4 win over No. 19 LMU on Saturday at Aztec Aquaplex. SDSU moved to 15-14 on the year and completed the GCC schedule with an unblemished 7-0 record.
For the first 16 minutes, SDSU and LMU matched each other goal for goal. The scoring started two minutes into the afternoon when Caroline Israels found herself one-on-one with Lions goalkeeper Sky Flores. The junior got the better of the netminder to put the Aztecs ahead, 1-0.
San Diego State held its lead for 100 seconds until Hana Vilanova leveled the score, which was later followed later by an Erin Byrne goal with under a minute to play. Then with three seconds left in the frame, Alyssa Diacono drew a penalty and Ioli Benekou knotted the game at 2-2 with her successful 5-meter attempt.
LMU wasted little time in regaining the lead as Bridgette Alvarez put her shot past Rachel Mitchell with 6:55 left in the first half. Both teams engaged in a defensive battle until the final moments when Taylor Gums sent a long pass into Israels, who slotted her shot into the near side of the cage to send the game into halftime with the score tied at 3-3.
The Aztecs pulled away from the Lions in the third quarter thanks to a pair of power-play goals and superb defense. Gums moved San Diego State in front, 4-3, with her touch shot off a pass from Hannah Carrillo on a 6-on-5 chance. Then with just over three minutes left in the frame, Tayla Walsh scored on a 5-on-4 opportunity. Defensively, SDSU held LMU scoreless for the entire third quarter, which extended the Lions scoreless streak to 14 minutes, 55 seconds.
Defense continued to be the theme of the second half as each team thwarted offensive opportunities. For San Diego State, Israels ended the drought with a long-range goal as the shot clock was winding down to propel the Aztecs to a 6-3 lead with 3:35 left in regulation. Loyola Marymount narrowed its deficit to a pair of goals when Ivana Castro scored on a 5-meter penalty shot, which ended its scoreless streak at 20 minutes, 21 seconds. With 2:34 remaining in the game, SDSU was able to keep the Lions at bay, featured by a Rachel Mitchell steal with one minute to go and a save as the buzzer sounded to preserve the victory. Mitchell finished with six saves.
The Aztecs' 7-0 Golden Coast record pushes their all-time conference record to 19-0. SDSU went 6-0 in league play in each of the first two GCC seasons.
San Diego State will complete its final regular-season homestand with a non-conference tilt vs. No. 4 Arizona State on Sunday at Aztec Aquaplex. The Senior Day game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. PT start and admission is free.
No. 14 San Diego State 6, No. 19 LMU 4
Aztec Aquaplex; San Diego, Calif.
LMU 2-1-0-1-4
SDSU 2-1-2-1-6
LMU goals: Alvarez, Byrne, Castro, Vilanova
SDSU goals: Israels 3, Benekou, Gums, Walsh
LMU saves: Flores 12
SDSU saves: Mitchell 6