IRVINE, Calif. – The San Diego State women's water polo team needed one victory in its final two games to secure a spot in the upcoming Golden Coast Conference championship tournament, and wasted no time in locking that bid up with a 13-4 victory over Concordia on Friday afternoon at the William Woollett Aquatics Center.
It is the third straight victory for San Diego State (6-13, 5-1 GCC) and its third consecutive in league play. In its last nine conference games, dating back to last season, SDSU is 8-1. Concordia's record now stands at 1-5 both overall and in league play.
Spencer Samuel got the Aztecs going in the first quarter with her 15th goal of the season to give SDSU a 1-0 lead with 6:59 to play in the quarter. Karli Canale would add two more goals in the period to stake San Diego State to a 3-0 lead after eight minutes. Canale's first goal came at the 3:46 mark and her second, on a penalty shot, with 28 seconds left before the end of the period.
Maddie Higginson made it 4-0 early in the second quarter on a penalty shot with 6:25 to go before the intermission and just 19 seconds later Canale struck again to make it 5-0 Aztecs. With just over three and a half minutes to go in the half, Emily Bennett put herself in the scoring column making it 6-0 and just before halftime, with 29 seconds left in the quarter, Laurene Padilla made it 7-0.
Canale's opening goal of the third period made it 8-0 and marked the eighth time this season she has notched a hat trick. Seconds later Bennett added her second goal of the game to push the SDSU advantage to nine goals. Higginson's second goal of the game made it 10-0 and the teams went to the final frame with San Diego State up by double digits.
Concordia finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter off a strike from Kim Reidel, but Higginson answered with her third goal of the game, and the first hat trick of her career, to make it 11-1. Bennett tallied her third and fourth goals of the game in the final stanza. Reidel and the Eagles' Dailynn Santoro scored once more and twice, respectively, to make the final score 13-4.
THE NOTE
The Aztecs held Concordia scoreless for 25:30 to start the game. The Eagles did not score until there was 6:30 left in the game.
THE STAT
Maddie Higginson recorded the first hat trick of her Aztec career.
San Diego State: 3-4-3-3 - 13
Concordia: 0-0-0-4 - 4
San Diego State Goals: Canale (4), Bennett (4), Higginson (3), Padilla (1), Samuel (1)
Concordia Goals: Reidel (2), Santoro (2)
San Diego State Saves: de Pinho (6), Morgan (1)
Concordia Saves: Cava (7)
-SDSU-