April 11, 2018
SAN DIEGO -
Game Week Preview
T-No. 21 San Diego State (12-13; 4-1 GCC) at No. 7 Pacific (12-7; 4-0 GCC)
Friday, April 13 | 7 p.m. PT | Chris Kjeldsen Pool | Stockton, Calif.
T-No. 21 San Diego State (12-13; 4-1 GCC) at Santa Clara (11-14; 1-4 GCC)
Saturday, April 14 | 1 p.m. PT | Sullivan Aquatic Center | Santa Clara, Calif.
Storylines
- T-No. 21 San Diego State begins a regular-season-ending three-game road trip that starts with two pivotal Golden Coast Conference games this week. The Aztecs will be in Stockton on Friday night to face seventh-ranked Pacific at 7 p.m. PT before heading south to Santa Clara for a 1 p.m. PT contest on Saturday.
- SDSU, the four-time defending GCC regular-season champions, heads into this week's action with a 4-1 league record and sit just a game back in the loss column of 4-0 Pacific. The Aztecs are currently tied for second place with LMU, which defeated San Diego State, 5-2, but lost to the Tigers, 11-6, earlier this season.
- The game between SDSU and Pacific will pit two of the hottest teams in the Golden Coast Conference against each other. The Aztecs have won four of their last five games, while the Tigers enter with a 5-1 record in their last six games.
- Something will have to give on Friday night in Stockton. San Diego State enters the contest with a 3-1 record in true road games this season and Pacific is 3-1 at Chris Kjeldsen Pool. The Aztecs, however, are 8-0 all-time in games played at UOP. San Diego State last appeared in Stockton back in 2016 and earned a 10-7 victory over the 12th-ranked Tigers.
- SDSU enters the game vs. the Tigers looking to avenge an 11-7 neutral-site loss last season in the 2017 Golden Coast championship game. The defeat was the only blemish on what was a sterling 32-0 all-time record vs. Pacific. San Diego State will look to improve to 33-1 against the Tigers on Friday.
- The Aztecs will wrap up their GCC schedule on Saturday at Santa Clara. SDSU is 7-1 all-time vs. the Broncos and has won four straight in the series. The game will mark San Diego State's third trip to SCU since 2006. SDSU was victorious in 2014 and 2016, winning by a combined score of 16-9.
- SDSU is coming off a week in which it posted a 2-0 record after home wins over No. 23 California Baptist and Fresno State. The 3-2 victory over the Lancers matched the lowest combined score in the history of the program, which dates to the 1995 season. San Diego State earned a 3-2 win over UC Santa Barbara on May 9, 1999, and later downed Redlands, 5-0, on March 2, 2002.
- The Aztecs played considerably better on Sunday in the 11-9 decision vs. Fresno State on Senior Day. The team honored its four seniors (Lizzy Bilz, Courtney Jarvis, Katrina King, Malia Magro) and the duo of Emily Lowell and Paola Vizcarra, both of whom will be graduating in May. Each senior scored with Jarvis finding the back of the net twice. She also had a team-best three assists.
- SDSU's graduating class made its mark on the game vs. the Bulldogs as it was responsible for five of the team's 11 goals (45.5 percent), four of seven assists (57.1 percent), six of 13 steals (46.2 percent) and two of three field blocks (66.7 percent).
- Maura Cantoni made 10 saves vs. Fresno State, giving her back-to-back double-figure save efforts for the first time of her career after she stopped a career-high 14 shots vs. No. 23 California Baptist. The junior exited the game with 2:01 left, giving way to the soon-to-be graduate Lowell.
- Outside of the graduating class, freshman Emily Bennett and junior Hannah Carrillo led the way vs. Fresno State. Bennett posted her fourth hat trick, which tied her with Carrillo for the season lead, and added two assists and three steals. Carrillo, meanwhile, after scoring twice vs. CBU, including the game winner, found the back of the net two more times vs. Fresno State, while contributing one assist and one steal. The junior from San Diego has now scored in eight straight games, which is a season-long streak.
Opponent Notebook
Pacific
The Tigers are 12-7 overall and 4-0 in the GCC... UOP is in the midst of a four-game homestand that has seen it defeat conference foe Concordia, 18-4, on Saturday and UC Irvine, 12-9, on Sunday... Pacific is 5-3 since the calendar turned to March and then April with four of its wins coming against GCC foes and UCI... The three defeats have come at the hands of UC Davis on the road, home to UCLA and at USC... Mariana Duarte leads UOP in goals with 46, and Alexis Hollinrake (9.83 GAA) has seen all but 40 minutes in net.
Santa Clara
The Broncos are 11-14 on the year and 1-4 in the Golden Coast... SCU, which had won three straight games in March, has dropped five of its last six outings, including road dates at LMU (10-4) and Azusa Pacific (5-4) on Friday and Saturday... The lone win in the Broncos' last six games was a 12-3 road decision at former Golden Coast Conference member Fresno Pacific back on March 29... Hannah Buck is SCU's top offensive threat with 36 goals... Goalkeeper Lydia Dadd has started all 25 games to date.