IRVINE, Calif. – Hoping to get off to a quick start, the San Diego State water polo team scored four times in the first quarter and twice had three goal leads, but Stanford showed why they are the No. 1-ranked team in the nation and came back for a 12-8 win in the opening game of the 2020 Barbara Kalbus Invitational on Friday.
The Aztecs (4-7) scored four times in the first eight minutes and had a 4-2 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Emily Bennett opened the scoring at the 6:15 mark with a strike from the right wing in a 6-5 situation. The Cardinal answered to tie the game, but then San Diego State ripped off three straight goals.
Karli Canale scored the first of her three goals on the day off a penalty shot with 5:32 to go in the first, and a minute and a half later picked up her second goal off a shot from up top to make it 3-1. With the Aztecs on a 6-on-5 man advantage, Sydney Hurst put SDSU up 4-1 with 1:21 to go in the period on a shot from the post. The Cardinal cut the lead to two goals on a strike with six seconds to play.
In the second quarter, Stanford turned the tables on the Aztecs. They found the back of the net five times compared to San Diego State's two and led 7-6 heading into the intermission Sixteen seconds into the second quarter, Canale picked up her third goal of the half. It came on a shot from the left point and gave SDSU a three-goal lead, 5-2.
Stanford then scored three goals in little more than 90 seconds to tie the game at 5-5. Shelby Kraft gave the Aztecs the lead again at 6-5, but Stanford scored the last two goals of the half and took a one-goal lead into halftime.
Coming out of the half, Isabelle Hastings tied the game, 7-7, at the 6:32 mark of the third period, but the Cardinal closed the quarter with four consecutive goals and took an 11-7 lead into the final eight minutes.
In the fourth period, Hurst got her second goal of the game to get SDSU to within three goals, 11-8. But that was a close as they would get as Stanford added a late tally to make the final score 12-8.
Jordan Heimback went the distance in goal and made seven saves.
The Aztecs were successful on 8-of-28 shots. Maddy Parenteau and Canale led the team with five shots each and Bennett had three of the team's seven assists.
San Diego State continues play in the Barbara Kalbus Invitational on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. against the loser of a Friday afternoon game between UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara. The Aztecs two Saturday games will be contested in the Corona Del Mar High School Pool.
-SDSU-