April 25, 2018
SAN DIEGO -
Game Week Preview
2018 Golden Coast Conference Championship
[6] No. 22 California Baptist (15-16) vs. [3] No. 21 San Diego State (13-15)
Friday, April 27 | 9:15 a.m. PT | Burns Aquatics Center | Los Angeles, Calif.
[2] No. 15 LMU (16-14)/[7] Santa Clara (12-16) vs. [3] No. 21 San Diego State (13-15)
Saturday, April 28 | 9:15 a.m. PT/12:45 p.m. PT | Burns Aquatics Center | Los Angeles, Calif.
TBD vs. [3] No. 21 San Diego State (13-15)
Sunday, April 29 | TBD | Burns Aquatics Center | Los Angeles, Calif.
Storylines
- Third-seeded and No. 21 San Diego State heads to Los Angeles in search of its second Golden Coast Conference Championship crown as the annual tournament is set to begin on Friday. The three-day get-together will take place at LMU's Burns Aquatics Center with every game streamed live on the Lions' YouTube page and live stats available on The FOSH.
- The No. 3-seed Aztecs will begin its quest for a sixth GCC title (four regular season, one tournament) against the field's sixth-seeded squad, California Baptist. SDSU earned a 3-2 home victory over the Lancers back on April 5, in their only meeting of 2018.
- San Diego State will face the winner/loser of second-seeded LMU and seventh-seeded Santa Clara. A win over CBU sends the Aztecs to the 12:45 p.m. PT semifinal game on Saturday rather than the 9:15 a.m. PT contest on Saturday morning. SDSU fell to the Lions, 5-2, at home on March 9, and downed the Broncos, 6-5, in Santa Clara on April 14.
- The GCC Championship returns to LMU for the first time since the league started back in 2014. That season, top-seeded San Diego State earned a bye into the semifinal round and defeated Pacific (9-6) before falling to the Lions in sudden-victory overtime (10-9) in the title game.
- The Aztecs are 5-3 all-time at the GCC Championship and have won three of their last four tourney games. SDSU will play in its first quarterfinal game in league history and has reached the final in all four seasons of the GCC's existence.
- SDSU will face the Lancers at the Golden Coast Championship for the second time in school history. San Diego State defeated CBU in the 2015 semifinal round, 11-6, when the tournament was held in Stockton.
- The Aztecs will look to advance past a California Baptist program that it has enjoyed great success against. SDSU will carry an all-time record of 18-2 and a 16-game winning streak vs. the Lancers into Friday morning's contest. At neutral sites, San Diego State is 8-2 vs. CBU.
- SDSU will be looking to wipe away last Friday's hard-fought 6-5 road defeat at the hands of 12th-ranked UC San Diego. The Aztecs held the Tritons to nearly three goals below their season average after UCSD came into the contest averaging 8.9 goals per game.
- San Diego State started slow offensively vs. UC San Diego, but used a stellar defensive effort to keep it in the game, allowing the offensive to find its rhythm. SDSU finally broke through in the second quarter thanks to the defensive prowess of Emily Bennett. The freshman forced a turnover at mid-pool, leading to a Karli Canale goal, and then swiped a Triton pass that was intended for their goalkeeper and scored in a face-to-face match-up with the UCSD goalie. Canale later gave the Aztecs a 3-1 lead in the third quarter and were tied 5-5 late in the fourth before falling, 6-5.
- On Tuesday, the Golden Coast revealed its postseason awards and the list featured three Aztecs. Hannah Carrillo was voted to the all-GCC first team and the honor was her first since being named to the all-league freshman team in 2016. Bennett picked up two awards after earning all-conference second-team recognition and freshman team accolades. Bennett is the first SDSU freshman, and second overall, since Ioli Benekou in 2014 to be named to either the first or second team. Maura Cantoni, meanwhile, joined Bennett on the second team after going through her first season as SDSU's starting goalkeeper.
- San Diego State has had at least one all-Golden Coast first-team member in each of the five years of the league's existence. The two second-team honorees, meanwhile, are a program record. Prior to this season, SDSU has had only two all-league second-team selections in four years (2015, 2017).
Opponent Notebook
California Baptist
The Lancers come into the GCC tournament with a 15-16 record after finishing conference play at 3-4... Since a 3-2 road loss to the Aztecs, California Baptist went 1-2 to complete its regular-season schedule... Two days after losing to SDSU, CBU followed it with another one-goal loss, this time a 6-5 decision at LMU... The Lancers snapped their two-game skid with a 10-4 road victory at Concordia before dropping another 6-5 game to Fresno State at home... CBU is led by all-GCC first-team choice Lizette Perez (driver; 37 goals, 36 assists), Co-Newcomer of the Year, second-team selection and freshman team member Kira O'Donell (attacker; 51 goals, 30 assists), and honorable mention pick Grace Ramirez (goalkeeper; 228 saves, 9.43 GAA).