SAN DIEGO – No. 15 San Diego State women's water polo jumps back into Golden Coast Conference action this week with a single game against No. 9 Fresno State. It is the start of a four-game stretch to end the regular season, all against conference foes.
This Week
Saturday, March 27
No. 9 Fresno State at No. 15 San Diego State
Aztec Aquaplex, San Diego, Calif.
1 p.m. PT
Links for live stats and live streaming video are available on the water polo schedule page at www.GoAztecs.com.
Opponent Notebook
No. 9 Fresno State (7-4, 3-0 GCC)
• In the Golden Coast Conference standings, the Bulldogs own a share of first place with Pacific with a 3-0 record.
• The Aztecs hold a 2-1 lead in the all-time series, and defeated Fresno State 11-8 in the 2018 season, the lone matchup between the programs at the Aquaplex.
• Fresno State's Emily Nicholson and Daphne Guevremont lead the team with 19 goals each and are tied for fifth in the GCC.
• Claire Schade is tied for third in the GCC with 14 assists and Cynthia Rose leads the conference in sprint wins (12).
• Goalie Hope Stokes has 36 saves, a .486 save percentage & a 8.45 goals against average, all are ranked 3rd in the GCC.
Know This
No. 15 San Diego State (3-13, 2-1 GCC)
• With its 17th game of the season this Saturday, San Diego State will have played 15 games against Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) top-10 ranked competition and the remaining two games have come against top-25 foes.
• Of its 16 games to date, six were one-goal affairs, three of which were decided in overtime.
• After coming out on the short end of the decision in its first 10 games, San Diego State 3-3 in its last six games.
• Karli Canale, a senior driver, leads the Aztecs offense in shots (110), goals (39), points (50) and sprints won, and is tied for the team lead in field blocks and is second in steals (18). In the Golden Coast Conference, she leads the league in goals, points and points per game. She ranks second in field block, steals and points per game. Canale has scored in all but one game this year, has 11 multi-goals games (13 total in her career) and six hat tricks, including three games of five goals. She has games in which she has taken double-digit shots, including a season-high 12 attempts in the opener at No. 6 Arizona State.
• Junior driver Jessica Leckich has 14 goals, third most on the squad, and a career-high. Her nine assists are one off her single season best. Her 11 steals are tied for the third most on the squad and ten ejections drawn are a single-season high.
• Emily Bennett, a senior utility, leads the team with 15 assists, 31 steals, 45 ejections drawn, and tied for the lead in field blocks (6). Her 73 shots, 24 goals, seven assists and 39 points rank second among the Aztecs this season. Bennett had a team-high four goals, equal to the entire offensive output by Loyola Marymount, in the team's 11-4 victory over LMU last week.
• Junior driver Spencer Samuel is in the midst of her best season as an Aztec. She is third on the team with a career-high 12 assists, and her ten goals are a single-season best and double the output from either of the previous two seasons. In addition, she had the season's most important goal, at the time, the game winner in overtime against Michigan (3/7).
• Lucia Carballo, a senior defender is tied for lead on the squad with six field blocks. She also has a career-high five goals and has two assists, as well.
• Junior driver Samantha Loughlin has seven goals and 11 assists, both career-highs and her 18 points rank No. 6 on the squad.
• Senior attacker Rory Nuuhiwa and Delaney Binette, a junior driver, have 11 and ten points, respectively. Each has already set career-bests for points and assists.
• Zoe Morgan, a junior goalie, has played a single-season high eight games. Her 60 saves and 246:38 in the cage are career-highs.
• Goalie Raquel de Pinho has played every minute in goal, save for 8 minutes at Santa Clara, since the start of the Michigan series on March 6. The native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has a 3-5 record and in 258:09 had made 74 saves (.500 save percentage) & a 9.71 goals against average. She has three games with double digit saves, including a pair of season-high 13 save efforts.
• Head coach Carin Crawford has amassed 487 career victories in her now 21+ years at the helm of the San Diego State water polo program.
-SDSU-
Aztecs Host Fresno State On Saturday
