March 24, 2018
SAN DIEGO - No. 21 San Diego State cruised to a 12-2 home victory over Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday evening at a partly sunny Aztec Aquaplex. SDSU's second straight win improved the Aztecs' record to 10-12, while the Otters fell to 4-15.
SDSU jumped out to a 2-0 lead after one quarter thanks to goals from Emily Bennett and Lizzy Bilz. The defense, meanwhile, was strong from the outset, shutting out the Otters over the entire first half.
CSUMB's defense was nearly as stout as the Aztecs', keeping San Diego State scoreless for 5:57 after Bilz's goal. Delaney Parks ended the Otters' run with 4:58 to go before halftime to put SDSU up, 3-0. The Aztecs appeared to head into intermission with a 3-0 lead, but Maggie Higginson was able to find the back of the net with 37 seconds left to push SDSU's lead to four.
Once action resumed, San Diego State's shutout streak was broken by Lucy Gates when she scored the Otters' first goal with 6:29 left in the third. The Aztecs, however, wasted zero time getting the goal back as Mary Myers slipped her shot into the back of the cage 18 seconds later. The scoring slowed for the next couple minutes until Bennett supplied SDSU with her second of the game, which led to the Aztecs outscoring CSUMB, 2-1, over the final 3:44 to take a 7-2 lead into fourth. Katrina King provided the Aztecs' other goal on a breakaway chance with 2:21 left.
In the final period, San Diego State blanked the Otters, 5-0. The Aztecs received a pair of goals from Hannah Carrillo and single tallies from Tatyanna Barr, Karli Canale and Higginson.
QUOTE
"It was great defensive effort with three shutout quarters. We played a lot of our younger players and got them some valuable minutes and good experience, and we saw some good things. I think we need to finish our penalty shots and our 6-on-5s, but it was a great result and great to see a lot of players contribute to the scoring." – SDSU Head Coach Carin Crawford
NOTE
SDSU set a season best for goals allowed with two tonight. The Aztecs' best effort this season prior to tonight was when they allowed three goals vs. Sonoma State back on March 10.
UP NEXT
San Diego State travels to Morro Bay to face T-No. 1 California on Wednesday. First sprint is set for 6 p.m. PT at Morro Bay High School.
No. 21 San Diego State 12, CS Monterey Bay 2
Aztec Aquaplex; San Diego, Calif.
CSUMB: 0-0-2-0—2
SDSU: 2-2-3-5—12
CSUMB goals: Lucy Gates 1, Olivia Woolery 1
SDSU goals: Emily Bennett 2, Hannah Carrillo 2, Maddie Higginson 2, Tatyanna Barr 1, Lizzy Bilz 1, Karli Canale 1, Katrina King 1, Mary Myers 1, Delaney Parks 1
CSUMB saves: unavailable
SDSU saves: Emily Lowell 4, Maura Cantoni 3