Feb. 22, 2017
SAN DIEGO -
Game Week Preview
Barbara Kalbus Invitational
No. 12 San Diego State (4-4) at No. 6 UC Irvine (7-4)
Friday, Feb. 24 | UC Irvine Aquatic Center | Irvine, Calif. | 4:15 p.m. PT
No. 12 San Diego State (4-4) vs. No. 3 UCLA (8-0) or No. 16 UC San Diego (4-5)
Saturday, Feb. 25 | UC Irvine Aquatic Center or Corona del Mar HS | Irvine or Corona del Mar, Calif. | 11:45 a.m. PT
No. 12 San Diego State (4-4) vs. TBD
Saturday, Feb. 25 | UC Irvine Aquatic Center or Corona del Mar HS | Irvine or Corona del Mar, Calif. | TBD
No. 12 San Diego State (4-4) vs. TBD
Sunday, Feb. 26 | UC Irvine Aquatic Center or Corona del Mar HS | Irvine or Corona del Mar, Calif. | TBD
Storylines
- No. 12 San Diego State returns to action this week when it competes at the three-day Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Orange County. The tournament will be split between the UC Irvine Aquatic Center and Corona del Mar High School, with the Aztecs set to play four games beginning with Friday's tilt at No. 6 UCI at 4:15 p.m. PT.
- The tournament will feature one game on Friday, two games on Saturday and a single contest on Sunday. The outcome vs. the Anteaters will determine Saturday's foe, which will be either No. 3 UCLA or No. 16 UC San Diego at 11:45 a.m. PT, and will be followed by an afternoon game. Saturday's outcomes will decide who SDSU will face on Sunday.
- SDSU opens its week in Orange County ranked 12th nationally, one week after moving up to No. 13 following its 3-2 effort the week before. The last time the Aztecs were in action they were ranked 17th when they defeated Santa Clara at home, and No. 16 Hartwick and T-No. 9 UC San Diego at the UCSD Triton Invitational. The two blemishes were to No. 2 USC and T-No. 9 UC Santa Barabra in La Jolla.
- The Aztecs' No. 12 national ranking is their highest since 2015, when they were No. 10 entering the UC Irvine Invitational, which was renamed the Barbara Kalbus Invitational this season.
- One week ago, Caroline Israels was named the Golden Coast Conference Player of the Week for her performance vs. the aforementioned five schools. The senior totaled 11 goals, which included four multiple-goal efforts, two assists, 10 steals and three drawn ejections. The award was the first for San Diego State this season and the fourth of her career.
- When San Diego State completed its 12-6 victory over Santa Clara on Feb. 10, it marked the 20th straight Golden Coast Conference victory for the Aztecs. In three-plus seasons of the GCC, SDSU has never dropped a league game, posting conference records of 6-0 in both 2014 and 2015, 7-0 in 2016 and this year's 1-0 performance. The Aztecs' next GCC opportunity will be at Fresno Pacific on March 17.
- Kate McDonnell has started every game between the pipes this season and has made at least six saves in each appearance when she has played the full 32 minutes. The junior equaled her career high of 13 stops in upset victories over No. 16 Hartwick and T-No. 9 UC San Diego. For the season, McDonnell has 65 saves and four double-digit save performances.
- Israels' 11-goal effort two weeks ago gives her a team-best 17 on the season. She also leads the team with 19 steals, six multi-goal games, two hat tricks (tied with Alyssa Diacono) and one multi-assist game (tied with six others). Israels also ranks second with four multi-steal games behind Ioli Benekou's five.
- SDSU is set to face UC Irvine on Friday, a program that it has had success against over the years. The Aztecs are 25-11 all-time vs. the Anteaters, but have dropped five straight. San Diego State last defeated UCI at its own invitational back on Feb. 24, 2013. Last season, the Aztecs were on the wrong end of a 6-5 sudden-victory score in Irvine.
- The games between the Aztecs and Anteaters have been extremely close. The last two games have required sudden-victory overtime and four of the last six have been decided by one goal, while five of the last six have been decided by two goals or less. In fact, 17 of the last 22 meetings, which dates to April 30, 2006, have been decided by two goals or less.
- This year will mark the 11th straight season in which the Aztecs have competed at UC Irvine's tournament. San Diego State is 21-19 all-time at the tourney and have won at least two games in seven of the previous 10 years.
- In scheduling news, the Aztecs' home game vs. Long Beach State on April. 8, has been cancelled. The game will not be made up this season. San Diego State, however, has added an exhibition home game vs. China's Chengdu University on March 2 at 3 p.m. PT.
- After the exhibition game, San Diego State will play host to the 11th annual Aztec Invitational, March 11-12. Saturday will feature a slate of eight games and will be followed by nine more on Sunday.