April 27, 2018
LOS ANGELES - Third-seeded and 21st-ranked San Diego State rallied from a first-quarter deficit, tied the game in the third and received the game-winner from freshman Emily Bennett to defeat sixth-seeded and No. 22 California Baptist, 7-6, Friday morning in the quarterfinal round of the Golden Coast Championship.
The Aztecs with the victory improve to 14-15 overall and move to the semifinal round, while the Lancers drop to 15-17 and into the consolation side of the bracket.
CBU started the morning off on the right note, scoring three of the game's first four goals. The start of the contest, however, was sluggish as neither team found the back of the net in the opening four-and-a-half minutes. Allie Coleman put the scoreboard operator to work with 3:28 left by scoring the first goal of the day and that was all it took to get the offense going as SDSU freshman Karli Canale responded 24 seconds later. Unfortunately for the Aztecs, they let up single goals from Annie Eubanks and Vickie Ochoa (power play) in the final 2:47 to fall behind, 3-1.
In the second quarter, defense reigned supreme, but opposite of the first quarter, the scoring came early. California Baptist scored its third unanswered goal 38 seconds into the frame when Kira O'Donell put her shot by goalkeeper Maura Cantoni. Then less than a minute later, Bennett struck for the first time, slicing SDSU's deficit in half with 6:36 left. The score would remain the same as the game moved to halftime.
The break allowed the teams to regroup and the Aztecs came out firing. Maddy Parenteau received a feed from Carrillo on a power play and posted SDSU's third goal with 6:07 on the clock. Then on San Diego State's next possession, Bennett leveled the score at 4-4 with her second of the morning. SDSU's 2-0 run was stopped by a Maddie Meza strike, but Shelby Kraft knotted the score once again, taking a pass from Malia Magro and putting her shot past Grace Ramirez with 3:34 left. Krista Krantz would score 48 seconds later to help CBU take a 6-5 lead, but Bennett drew one of her nine exclusions with 1:22 left, leading to a successful Kraft penalty shot. At the end of three quarters, the teams were tied, 6-6.
With a spot in the semifinal up for grabs, the defense tightened up and both teams struggled to find scoring opportunities. Steals, saves and shots hitting off the posts were abundant in the first five-plus minutes. Bennett, however, found herself on the right side of the pool, almost unguarded, and the all-GCC second-team selection put her shot into the cage. SDSU was then able to extinguish the rest of the Lancers' offensive possessions in the final two minutes en route to the victory.
NOTE I
Emily Bennett led the Aztecs with her fifth hat trick of 2018, three field blocks and three steals (tied with Maddy Parenteau and Shelby Kraft). The freshman also drew nine of SDSU's 12 exclusions. Bennett's nine drawn exclusions is the most by an Aztec since Erinn Greenwood had 12 at California on March 14, 2009.
NOTE II
San Diego State earned a berth in the semifinal round for the fifth straight season. In the previous four years of the Golden Coast Conference, the Aztecs have gone 4-0 in GCC semifinal games.
UP NEXT
The Aztecs will face second-seeded and No. 15 LMU on Saturday at its own Burns Aquatics Center with first sprint set for 12:45 p.m. PT. Live video and stats links will be available at GoAztecs.com. Earlier this season, SDSU dropped a 5-2 decision to the Lions at Aztec Aquaplex back on March 9.
(3) No. 21 San Diego State 7, (6) No. 22 California Baptist 6
Burns Aquatics Center; Los Angeles, Calif.
CBU: 3-1-2-0--6
SDSU: 1-1-4-1--7
CBU goals: Allie Coleman 1, Annie Eubanks 1, Krista Krantz 1, Maddie Meza 1, Kira O'Donell 1, Vickie Ochoa 1
SDSU goals: Emily Bennett 3, Shelby Kraft 2, Karli Canale 1, Maddy Parenteau 1
CBU saves: Grace Ramirez 7
SDSU saves: Maura Cantoni 8