March 26, 2018
SAN DIEGO -
Game Week Preview
No. 21 San Diego State (10-12) vs. T-No. 1 California (15-3) - 6 p.m. PT
Wednesday, March 28 | Morro Bay High School Aquatic Center | Morro Bay, Calif.
Storylines
- No. 21 San Diego State will make the 328-mile trek to Morro Bay to face T-No. 1 California at Morro Bay High School Aquatic Center on Wednesday night. First sprint for the Aztecs' only game of the week is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT.
- The Aztecs are coming off a 2-1 week that ended on a pair of good notes. SDSU played a rare Monday game last week that saw it finish on the short side of a 10-4 score vs. No. 17 Princeton. San Diego State recovered by beating T-No. 25 Azusa Pacific in Glendora and excusing Cal State Monterey Bay at home Saturday night.
- SDSU's 10-8 overtime win at Azusa Pacific helped the Aztecs improve to 2-1 in the Golden Coast Conference standings. The Aztecs, four-time defending GCC regular-season champions, are currently tied with Loyola Marymount for second place, just one game behind Pacific (3-0).
- Hannah Carrillo led the Aztecs in scoring at APU with three goals, including the game-winner in the first overtime frame, on five shot attempts. The junior also added an assist for the cause. Emily Bennett, meanwhile, scored once, but added three steals and posted career highs with six ejections drawn and five field blocks. Additionally, Lizzy Bilz (4) and Maddy Parenteau (3) combined for seven steals in the overtime win.
- SDSU's overtime game at APU was its third of the season and it improved to 2-1 in those contests. The Aztecs' three overtime games are their most in one season since the 2016 campaign when they were forced into extra time four times (1-3).
- The win over Cal State Monterey Bay featured nine goal scorers, which was tied for the second-highest total of the season, matching the effort at Concordia and trailing the 11 scorers vs. Sonoma State. Leading the way were a trio of two-goal scorers in Bennett, Carrillo and Maddie Higginson. Bennett and Carrillo are regulars in the multi-goal scoring column, but for Higginson, it was her second of the season and second since March 10.
- Of the nine goal scorers vs. the Otters, four were freshmen (Tatyanna Barr, Bennett, Karli Canale, Higginson) and five were newcomers to the team, adding in junior college transfer Mary Myers to the aforementioned group. They combined to score seven of SDSU's 12 goals (58.3 percent).
- San Diego State set a 2018-season record for fewest goals allowed when it gave up a pair vs. Cal State Monterey Bay. The effort was better than its three-goals-allowed performance vs. Sonoma State back on March 10. SDSU also posted a season-high three shutout quarters in the victory, allowing two goals in the third quarter. In fact, the Aztec defense opened the game by not bleeding a goal for the first 17:31.
- Maura Cantoni continued her solid play in her first starting campaign, making 21 saves in her three games last week. The junior made 10 stops in the win at Azusa Pacific to give her a team-best five double-digit save performances this season. She leads the team with 143 stops.
- The contest vs. California represents one of two non-conference games left on San Diego State's schedule. Following its date with the Golden Bears, SDSU will play four league games and then wrap up its regular-season slate at non-conference foe UC San Diego with the Harper Cup on the line (April 20).
- San Diego State will look for its first three-game winning streak of the season on Wednesday, but will have to do it against a California team that it has struggled with over the last several years. SDSU, which is 11-29 all-time vs. the Golden Bears, has dropped seven straight contests vs. the Berkeley school.
- The Aztecs will be in search of their first series win over California since April 27, 2008, when they earned a 12-11 overtime decision in San Diego. SDSU has not seen the Golden Bears since 2016, and Wednesday will be just the second get-together since a 2013 neutral-site meeting in Irvine.
- The trip to Morro Bay will be a homecoming for two San Diego State freshman in Isabella Solis and Taylor York. Both hail from Arroyo Grande and Arroyo Grande High School, which 32 miles from Morro Bay High School. Solis, a center, has played in two games and tallied one ejection drawn and a field block. York, meanwhile, has seen action in one game, scored a goal and posted two steals.
Opponent Notebook
California
The Golden Bears will be returning to action for the first time since a March 17 road win at Arizona State... The win at ASU was California's third straight after defeating Stanford and UCLA to improve to 3-0 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation... In posting a 15-3 record that has vaulted them into a tie atop the top-25 national rankings with Stanford, California has outscored its opposition, 206-96... Carla Carrega leads the Golden Bears with 34 goals with Dora Antal (33) and Emma Wright (32) trailing behind... Four other players have reached the double-digit mark in scoring as well (Anna Illes - 21, Kitty Lynn Joustra - 20, Hannah DeRose - 10, Elli Protopapas - 10)... Madison Tagg has seen the majority of time in net with 100 saves and a 4.76 GAA.