SAN DIEGO – After traveling to the East Coast last Thursday, the San Diego State water polo team dropped its first two games of the Princeton Invitational, but then turned things around and swept its last two games to end with a 2-2 record for the weekend.
No. 9 Harvard 10, No. 22 San Diego State 8
Emily Bennett scored the first of her two goals against the Crimson in the first quarter and Casia Morrison added another in the period, but SDSU trailed 4-2 after one.
In the second quarter, the Aztecs got tallies from Isabelle Hastings, Sydney Hurst and Lindsy Peterson, but trailed 6-5 after 16 minutes.
San Diego State got its second goal from Bennett and one from Haley Hagerty in the third and a solo strike from Karli Canale in the fourth, but Harvard answered with a goal in the third and three more in the final eight minutes to defeat SDSU 10-8.
San Diego State converted on eight of 26 shots with Maddy Parenteau leading the squad with five attempts.
Jordann Heimback went the distance in goal and made a season-high 10 saves.
No. 21 Princeton 7, No. 22 San Diego State 5
The first half of the game saw the Aztecs produce 11 shots, but none found the back of the net and, on a first quarter goal, Princeton took a 1-0 advantage into intermission.
San Diego State got on the scoreboard in the third on a goal from Jessica Leckich and who tallied another in the fourth along with scores from Emily Bennett, Maddy Parenteau and Karli Canale. However, the Tigers got four in the third and two more in the fourth for the two-goal victory, 7-5.
The Aztecs were 5-of-25 on shot attempts and Grace Halliday made a pair of saves in the game.
No. 22 San Diego State 17, LIU 5
Led by Haley Hagerty's hat-trick, five Aztecs tallied multiple goals and San Diego State snapped a four-game slide in a 17-5 thrashing of the LIU Sharks.
SDSU scored seven times in the first quarter and never looked back. Hagerty picked up two of her three goals in the game and Maddy Parenteau and Sydney Hurst registered two goals apiece along with a single strike from Karli Canale in the first eight minutes.
In the second, the Aztecs tacked on four more to take an 11-2 lead into the break. The goals came from Emily Bennett, Isabelle Hastings, Lindsey Peterson and Spencer Samuel.
Hagerty got her third goal of the contest in the third quarter and Maddie Higgingson scored as well to send the game to the fourth with SDSU up 13-5.
In the final eight minutes, Bennett, Shelby Kraft, Casia Morrison and Peterson found the back of the net for the final of 17-5.
Goalie duties were shared with Jordann Heimback playing the first half and making three saves and Grace Halliday playing the third and fourth quarters saving five shots.
The Aztecs were successful on 17-of-28 shots with Hagerty producing a team-high four attempts.
No. 22 San Diego State 16, St. Francis 6
For the second game in a row, SDSU outscored its opponent in the first quarter and went on the a 10-point victory over the St. Francis Terriers, 16-6.
Emily Bennett led the offense with five goals. It was the most an Aztecs has tallied in a game since Bennett herself connected six times against Bucknell on March 11, 2018. She tallied one in the first, second and fourth periods and scored two goals in the third.
San Diego State scored on first quarter shots from Bennett, Isabelle Hastings, Sydney Hurst and Karli Canale to lead 4-1 after eight minutes.
The Aztecs got second quarter goals from Bennett, Rory Nuuhiwa and Haley Hagerty to take a 7-3 lead into the half.
In the third, the Aztecs busted the game open. They scored five times, including a pair of tallies from Bennett and individual goals from Maddie Higginson, Maddy Parenteau and Canale and led 12-4 heading to the final eight minutes.
In the last quarter, goals from Bennett, Hastings, Shelby Kraft and Lindsy Peterson gave San Diego State a total of 16 goals and it took the victory 16-6.
SDSU attempted 38 shots, connecting on 16. Grace Halliday and Jordann Heimback shared time in goal with Halliday totaling three saves in the first half and Heimback stopping five in the second.
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