LA JOLLA, Calif. – No. 21 San Diego State water polo (2-2) defeated No. 24 Marist 8-5 but fell to No. 9 UC Santa Barbara 3-2 to earn a split on the opening day of the 2020 Triton Invitational at UC San Diego on Saturday.
No. 9 UC Santa Barbara 3, No. 21 San Diego State 2
In a game that was a defensive struggle, Aztec junior Maddie Higginson scored the first goal of the contest with 1:54 before the half. It was her fourth goal of the year and gave SDSU a 1-0 lead after 16 minutes.
The Gauchos came back in the third quarter and got a pair of goals in the final three minutes to take a lead into the decisive period. The first goal came on a penalty shot with 3:04 left and then UCSB took a 2-1 lead on a goal with 1:47 in the third.
UC Santa Barbara picked up its third goal just 33 seconds into the final period. They scored their three goals in 3:37 between the third and fourth quarters. The Aztecs then got the last goal of the game on a Sydney Hurst tally, her second of the season, for the final score of 3-2.
Jordann Heimback played the entire game in goal and made seven saves but took the loss. San Diego State totaled 20 shots in the game led by four from Karli Canale and picked up 17 steal, paced by Emily Bennett who had five.
No. 21 San Diego State 8, No. 24 Marist 5
San Diego State outscored Marist in each of the first three period to take a 5-2 lead into the final quarter, then each team put three goals on the board to give the Aztecs an 8-5 victory.
SDSU got goals from Isabelle Hastings and Karli Canale in the first and had a 2-1 lead after eight minutes. Shelby Kraft scored the only goal in the second quarter to give San Diego State a 3-1 lead at the intermission.
Tallies from Maddy Parenteau and Haley Hagerty in the third quarter along with a Marist goal made it 5-2 heading into the final period. In the fourth, Parenteau scored twice and Jessica Leckich added a goal while Marist matched the Aztecs output to make the final score 8-5 in SDSU's favor.
San Diego State scored eight goals on 25 shots and totaled 11 steals.
Grace Halliday made eight saves to earn the victory.
The Triton Invitational continues Sunday with the Aztecs playing two games. The day starts at 10:40 a.m. with a game against LMU. The team's final game opponent will be decided following the game.
-SDSU-