April 9, 2017
SAN DIEGO -
Game Week Preview
No. 22 CSU Bakersfield (12-13) at T-No. 14 San Diego State (14-12)
Tuesday, April 11 | Aztec Aquaplex | San Diego, Calif. | 2 p.m. PT
Azusa Pacific (13-11; 3-2 GCC) at T-No. 14 San Diego State (14-12; 5-0 GCC)
Thursday, April 13 | Aztec Aquaplex | San Diego, Calif. | 3 p.m. PT
Concordia (7-15; 0-3 GCC) at T-No. 14 San Diego State (14-12; 5-0 GCC)
Thursday, April 13 | Aztec Aquaplex | San Diego, Calif. | 4 p.m. PT
Storylines
- T-No. 14 San Diego State returns to action this week and is set to play three home games beginning on Tuesday vs. 22nd-ranked CSU Bakersfield. After taking Wednesday off, the Aztecs will return to Aztec Aquaplex on Thursday to close out their Golden Coast Conference slate with a doubleheader vs. Azusa Pacific and Concordia. Admission for all three games is free.
- SDSU will briefly step out of conference play on Tuesday after it defeated ninth-ranked Pacific, 8-7, last Friday at Aztec Aquaplex. The win helped San Diego State move to 5-0 in GCC action and brought it one step closer to its fourth straight Golden Coast regular-season title. Pacific, meanwhile, was the highest ranked team in the league and entered the game as the only other unbeaten team in conference, coming in with a 3-0 record.
- The Aztecs, who are 24-0 all-time in GCC games, can clinch at least a share of the Golden Coast regular-season title and the GCC Championship's top seed with a victory over Azusa Pacific. SDSU finds itself in the driver's seat for both the title and the tournament's No. 1 seed after the league's head coaches voted them to finish second behind Pacific in the annual preseason poll.
- Defense was the theme in San Diego State's win over the Tigers. Goalkeeper Kate McDonnell tied her career high with 16 saves and the Aztecs improved to 9-2 over their last 11 games when holding their opponent to nine goals or fewer. SDSU is 0-9 this year when allowing 10 or more goals. The Aztecs also held Pacific's leading scorer, Kyra Christmas, to zero goals.
- Despite limiting Pacific to seven goals, the game became interesting in the third quarter as the Tigers scored twice to level the score at 5-5. Prior to the third-quarter drought, San Diego State enjoyed leads of 3-2 and 5-3 after one quarter and at halftime, respectively. Pacific took 6-5 lead with 4:41 left in the game, but the Aztecs responded with a Lizzy Bilz goal with 3:11 to go and consecutive goals from Caroline Israels (2:18, 1:49 left) to put the game just out of reach of the Tigers, who added one more goal with 41 seconds to play.
- McDonnell's 16-save effort gave her eight multiple-save performances this season. Other notables from the game include, Israels notching her team-best 17th multi-goal effort of the year, Benekou her 10th and Carrillo her seventh. Bilz's game-tying goal, meanwhile, was just her seventh goal of the season and first since the opening game at the Hawai'i Invitational vs. UCLA.
- With the victory last Friday, San Diego State improved to 6-1 this season at Aztec Aquaplex. Against all conference competition, San Diego State is undefeated in its last 13 regular-season home games, a streak that dates back to its time in the Big West (2013). The Aztecs last suffered a regular-season home conference loss on March 2, 2013. In all league-affiliated games, which includes conference tournament outings, SDSU is 15-0 in its last 15 home contests vs. conference foes.
- The game vs. CSU Bakersfield was a late addition to the Aztecs' schedule and came only after Long Beach State canceled its date with SDSU. Tuesday's meeting will be the second time the Roadrunners have made the trip to Montezuma Mesa after they competed on day two of the Aztec Invitational on March 12. San Diego State later made the trip to Bakersfield as it played at the Roadrunner Invitational on March 18. Despite the familiarity, the teams have not faced each other this season.
- SDSU and CSU Bakersfield are meeting for the first time since 2014 and for the first time in San Diego since the 2010 campaign. The Aztecs are 13-0 all-time vs. the Roadrunners and have scored at least 10 goals in all but 11 of the games. San Diego State has scored at least eight times in all 13 get-togethers.
- The Aztecs have faced Azusa Pacific once in each of the last three seasons and have come away with victories every time. The average score in the three games has been SDSU 9.3, APU 5.7.
- San Diego State owns a 4-0 all-time record vs. Concordia, which is located in Irvine. The teams first met in 2011 and have played each other in each of the last three seasons. The Aztecs have scored a combined 57 goals in the four meetings and allowed just 19 goals, including one goal last year in Irvine.
- Following this week's busy slate is a home game vs. UC San Diego. The annual Harper Cup game will also serve as Senior Day. The Aztecs will look to reclaim the Cup on April 22 at 1 p.m. PT.