Aztecs Play Fresno State in GCC Semis

SAN DIEGO – With the regular season in the rearview mirror, the San Diego State water polo team is prepped and ready for the Golden Coast Conference tournament which begins on Friday afternoon for the 4-seeded Aztecs in a quarterfinal matchup against the 5-seed Azusa Pacific Cougars.
 
This Week
Golden Coast Conference Quarterfinal No. 3
Friday, April 22 – 2 p.m. PT
[4-seed] No. 20 San Diego State vs. [5-seed] Azusa Pacific
Lancer Aquatics Center - Riverside, Calif.
 
Golden Coast Conference Semifinal No. 2
Saturday, April 23 – 4 p.m. PT
[4-seed] No. 20 San Diego State vs. Quarterfinal No. 4 winner – [1-seed] Fresno State vs. [8-seed] Concordia
Lancer Aquatics Center - Riverside, Calif.
 
Golden Coast Conference Championship
Sunday, April 24 – 1 p.m. PT
Lancer Aquatics Center - Riverside, Calif.
 
Links for live stats and streaming video are available on the water polo schedule page at www.goaztecs.com.
 
Award Season
With the regular season in the rearview mirror it's award season and three Aztecs earned Golden Coast Conference (GCC) honors. Laurene Padilla, a sophomore utility, is a first team All-GCC performer. Freshman attacker Rose Kanemy was selected as a second-team honoree and earned inclusion on the All-Freshman Team, and senior driver Karli Canale is a third-team All-GCC designee.
 
GCC Tournament History – San Diego State
In its previous seven GCC tournaments, San Diego State has compiled a 9-7 record. The Aztecs have reached the tournament final five times (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2021) and won the title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in 2016. The team was the runner-up in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2021. In 2018, SDSU finished third place and in 2019 in fourth place.
 
Current Aztecs in the GCC Tournament
A total of 11 Aztecs enter the 2022 tournament with experience in the event.
 

 
Know This About the Aztecs
[4-seed] No. 21 San Diego State (12-15, 4-3 GCC)
• With its 13-9 victory at California Baptist last week, the Aztecs secured the 4-seed in this week's Golden Coast Conference tournament.
• The Aztecs' 4-3 record in league action marks its 10th straight season with a winning record in conference play.
• In its last 31 GCC games, dating back to the 2017 season, San Diego State is 23-8 and in the last three GCC campaigns, the Aztecs have a 10-4 record in league games.
• Sophomore utility Laurene Padilla, a first-team All-GCC performer, finished the regular season second on the team in goals (38), assists (32) and points (70), was third in steals (22) and shots (102), and led the squad with seven field blocks. Among GCC performers, she was fourth in assists and eighth in points. In league contests, the Carlsbad High product, led the conference in assists (13), was sixth in points (23) and eighth in sprint win percentage (.286). Padilla scored multiple goals in 14 games, including four of the team's seven league games. She had a single game high of four goals against No. 11 UC Davis, among four hat tricks. In her nine multi-assist games, she recorded a career-high six vs. No. 25 CSUN, which is the second most in a single game in Aztecs' history. In two career GCC tournament games, both in 2021, Padilla has attempted three shots, scored two goals, had two assists and a steal.  
• Rose Kanemy, a second-team All-GCC honoree who also earned inclusion on the All-Freshman Team, led the team with 106 shots, tied Padilla with 38 goals and was third in assists (30) and points (68). She had 13 steals and equaled Padilla with seven blocks. A freshman attacker, she was sixth in the league in assists and ninth in points and in conference games only, was sixth in points (23), seventh in assists (10). She had 10 games with multiple goals, including a single-game best five goals against No. 25 CSUN, and overall finished with five hat tricks. Three assist efforts against Azusa Pacific and Cal State Monterey Bay highlighted 10 games with multiple assists. 
• Karli Canale, a senior driver and honorable mention All-GCC performer, paced the team in goals (42), assists (35), points (77) and steals (48) and among Aztecs with a minimum of 50 shot attempts, her .408 shot percentage topped the squad. Canale recorded a team-high 12 multi-goal games, including the game winner and a single-game high five tallies versus Cal Baptist. The La Jolla High product totaled seven hat tricks and had a second game winner, in overtime, against Azusa Pacific. Among GCC student-athletes she led the league in steals, was third in assists, fifth points and sprint win percentage (.382), sixth in sprint wins (13) and win percentage, and seventh in goals. In league games, Canale led the league in steals (18), ranked fourth in assists (12), fifth in points (23), sprint wins (6) and win percentage (.545) and 10th in assists. In eight GCC tournament games, the La Jolla High product, has scored nine goals on 24 shots, assisted on three and had three steals.
• Senior driver Spencer Samuel, is second on the team with 26 steals, third in exclusions drawn (13), fourth in assists (21) and fifth in goals (22). In the GCC she is 10th in steals. In league games, the Valhalla High graduate, is 10th in assists (9). In five GCC tournament games, she has produced eight shots, scored four goals and has assisted on two more.
• Sydney Hurst has drawn a team-leading 48 ejections, is fourth on the squad with a career-high 24 goals and among Aztecs with at least one-shot attempt per game, her .490 shooting percentage ranks second on the team. In three GCC tournament games, the Simi Valley, Calif., native, has attempted six shots, scored a goal and snatched two steals.
• Six other San Diego State players have reached double-digit goals: Katie Ratcliff (career-high 19), Kendall Houck (career-high 13), Lucia Carballo (13), Jessica Leckich (13), Samantha Loughlin (career-high 12),  Delaney Binette (career-high 10).
• In addition to Padilla, Canale, and Kanemy, who all have over 20 assists, five other Aztecs are all in double digits: Spencer Samuel (career-high equaling 21), Delaney Binette (career-high 19), Lucia Carballo (career-high 16), Kendall Houck (career-high 12), and Samantha Loughlin (11) are all in double digits.
• Raquel de Pinho leads the team's goalies with 139 saves and 485:38 minutes and has a goals against average of 12.12. She is No. 6 in saves, No. 7 in save percentage (.430) and No. 9 in goals against average among GCC performers. In league games only, she ranks second in steals (15), eighth in saves (34), ninth in save percentage (.459) and GAA (10.91).
• Zoe Morgan has a 4-3 record, a 10.39 GAA in 264:53, and has made 77 saves. Her 17 appearances, four wins, 77 saves and 13 steals are all single-season highs, and in the GCC she is No. 4 in goals against average, No. 5 in save percentage (.472), and No. 10 in saves. In conference games only, the San Diego native is sixth in save percentage (.492), and GAA (9.38), and ninth in saves (9).
• Head coach Carin Crawford has amassed 474 career victories in her now 24th year at the helm of the San Diego State water polo program.

Inside the Matchup vs. [5-seed] Azusa Pacific (8-15, 2-5 GCC)
• This will be the 11th meeting between these two programs, dating back to the 2014 season, with the Aztecs holding an 9-1 advantage in the all-time series.
• San Diego State took the first seven meetings in the series, but lost 9-10 in 2019, and has beaten the Cougars in each of the last two meeting, including a 14-13 overtime win in the Aquaplex earlier this year.
• The Aztecs are 2-0 against the Cougars in neutral site games, with both matchups coming in the GCC tournament. In games played at the Aquaplex, San Diego State holds a 3-1 lead in the all-time series and in APU's pool, SDSU is 5-0.
• In its 10-game history against APU, the Aztecs have averaged 10.0 goals per game, while allowing 6.8 and in its matchups in the GCC tournament, San Diego State is scoring 10.5 goals per outing and giving up 6.0.
• Two current Aztecs, Karli Canale and Lucia Carballo, competed against Azusa Pacific in the 2018 GCC tournament. Carballo attempted one shot, but neither figured into the scoring in SDSU's 8-5 win at Santa Clara in the third-place game.
• In its overtime win against the Cougars earlier this year, four SDSU players scored multiple goals led by hat tricks from Samantha Loughlin and Katie Ratcliff and two goal efforts from Jessica Leckich and Sydney Hurst. Canale had the game winner in a strike with 1:20 to play in the second overtime and Zoe Morgan, playing the final 11:38, earned the win allowing one goal and making five saves.

San Diego State vs. Azusa Pacific in the GCC Tournament

 
Inside the Possible Matchup vs. [1-seed] No. 8 Fresno State (13-6, 6-1 GCC)
• This would be the seventh meeting between these two programs, dating back to the 2018 season, with the all-time series tied at 3-3 and all games being either regular-season GCC contests or GCC tournament games.
• San Diego State won the first two regular-season meetings, in 2018 & 2019, and is 3-1 in the regular season against the Bulldogs, regardless of location.
The programs have met twice in the GCC tournament, in the third-place game in 2019, a 15-10 Bulldogs win in Fresno State's pool and in 2021 in the championship game, a 14-10 loss at Pacific.
• The teams have only played once in a neutral pool, in the 2021 championship game in Stockton, Calif., the aforementioned Fresno State win. In games played in the Aquaplex, SDSU is 2-0, and in Fresno the Aztecs are 1-2, including a 14-9 loss earlier this year.
 
• For the series, San Diego State averages 10.3 goals per game against the Bulldogs while allowing 11.8.
• Eleven current Aztecs were on the 2021 team which competed against Fresno State for the league championship. Four of them scored goals with Katie Ratcliff leading the charge with a hat trick. Laurene Padilla paced the team with two assists and Raquel de Pinho had nine saves. In 2019, Karli Canale led the team with six shots, four goals and two steals, and Sydney Hurst produced two shots.   

San Diego State vs. Fresno State in the GCC Tournament

Inside the Possible Matchup vs. [8-seed] California Baptist (12-16, 0-7 GCC)
• This could be the 25th meeting between these two programs, with the Aztecs holding a commanding 22-2 advantage in the all-time series, which began in the 2000 season.
• San Diego State was 2-2 in the first four matchups against the Lancers, but has won the last 20 in a row, having not lost to CBU since April 13, 2001.
• The Aztecs own a 9-2 record against the Lancers in neutral site contests, including a pair of victories in the 2015 and 2018 GCC tournament.
• In the history of the series, the Aztecs average 8.8 goals per game while allowing 5.5.
• In a meeting earlier this season, a 13-9 victory for SDSU at CBU, Karli Canale led the game with five goals and four assists
• A matchup between these two programs in the semifinal would be the third time they will met in the GCC tournament. There are two current Aztecs who competed in the 2018 game. Canale took three shots and had one goal and Lucia Carballo took one shot but did not figure in the scoring.

San Diego State vs. California Baptist in the GCC Tournament

-SDSU-