Aztecs Host Two Critical Games this Week at the Aquaplex

SAN DIEGO – With three games remaining in San Diego State water polo's regular-season conference schedule, the Aztecs play two critical games at the Aquaplex this week, which will go a long way to determining seeding in the upcoming Golden Coast Conference (GCC) tournament.
 
SDSU, currently fourth in the GCC standings, hosts the two teams it is sandwiched between starting with the team just behind it, Concordia, on Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. PT. San Diego State then plays No. 16 Pacific, the team in front of the Aztecs, on Saturday at 12 p.m. PT.
 
This Week
Wednesday, April 6
Concordia at No. 20 San Diego State – 3 p.m. PT
Aztec Aquaplex, San Diego, Calif.
Live Stats
 
Saturday, April 9
No. 16 Pacific at No. 20 San Diego State – 12 p.m. PT
Aztec Aquaplex, San Diego, Calif.
Live Stats
 
Know This
Concordia (9-10, 2-3 Golden Coast Conference)
• This will be the 10th meeting between these two programs, with the Aztecs holding a 9-0 advantage in the all-time series, which began in the 2011 season.
• San Diego State has averaged 13.8 goals per game and has never been held to single digit tallies against Concordia, while allowing 4.9 per contest against the Eagles.
• This will be the third meeting at the Aquaplex after SDSU took the previous two by scores of 13-7 (April 13, 2017) and 11-4 (March, 16, 2019).
• San Diego State is 4-0 in Concordia's pool and 3-0 in neutral site matchups.
• Concordia is 2-5 in true road contests and in its road wins is averaging 10.5 goals and surrendering 7.0, but in its losses is scoring an average of 9.6 goals and giving up 15.4.
• The only time the Eagles have played the Aztecs and been ranked came last year in a 13-4 victory for SDSU on April 9, 2021, San Diego State's penultimate regular season game.
• Head coach Carin Crawford has been on the pool deck for each of the nine previous meetings.
 
No. 16 Pacific (9-10, 3-1 Golden Coast Conference)
• This will be the 39th meeting between these two programs, dating back to the first matchup in the 1996 season, with the Aztecs holding a commanding 34-4 advantage in the all-time series.
• Ahead of its matchup with the Aztecs on Saturday, UOP is at Concordia on Friday, April 8, in a GCC game.
• In games played in SDSU's pool, the Aztecs have won 12-of-13 meetings, but the lone loss came the last time the Tigers were at the Aquaplex, 12-7 on April 12, 2019.
• This meeting will mark the 12th time Pacific has been ranked when the programs have met and in those previous matchups, San Diego State holds an 8-3 advantage.
• Aztec head coach Carin Crawford has been on the pool deck for 32 of the 38 previous meetings and has a 28-4 record against the Tigers.
 
About the Aztecs 
• San Diego State is 10-13 overall, 2-2 in Golden Coast Conference (GCC) play and No. 20 in the nation at the start of the week.
• Raquel de Pinho leads the team's goalies with 105 saves and 381:38 minutes and has a goals against average of 12.49. Among GCC goalies she is No. 7 in saves, No. 8 in save percentage (.413) and No. 9 in goals against average.
• Zoe Morgan has a 4-3 record, a 10.49 GAA in 219:53, and has made 67 saves. Her 14 appearances, four wins, 67 saves and 11 steals are all single-season highs, and in the GCC she is No. 4 in goals against average (10.52), No. 5 in save percentage (.459), and No. 10 in saves.
• Laurene Padilla leads the Aztecs offense with 35 goals and ranks second with 25 assists, both are career-bests and among GCC players she is No. 6 in assists and No. 7 in points (60). 
• Karli Canale is second in goals (32), is tied for the team lead with 26 assists and leads the squad with 30 steals. Her assists and 12 sprints won are both career-bests. Among GCC performers she is No. 2 in steals, No. 3 in assists, No. 5 in sprint win percentage (.414), No. 6 in sprints won (12), and No. 9 in points (58).
• Rose Kanemy is tied for the team lead and ranks No. 3 in the GCC with 26 assists. In addition, she is tied for the team lead in blocks (6), is second in shots (86), third in goals (31).
• Syndey Hurst has drawn a team-leading 38 ejections and is fourth on the squad with a career-high 21 goals and among Aztecs with at least one shot attempt per game, her .467 shooting percentage ranks second on the team.
• Seven other San Diego State players have reached double-digit goals (Spencer Samuel – 16, Katie Ratcliff – career-high 14, Kendall Houck – career-high 13, Samantha Loughlin – career-high 12, Jessica Leckich – 10,  Delaney Binette – career-high 10 and Lucia Carballo – 10).
• In addition to Padilla, Canale, and Kanemy, who all have over 20 assists, four other Aztecs; Spencer Samuel (15), Delaney Binette (15), Lucia Carballo (14) and Kendall Houck (10) are all in double digits. Houck is No. 5 in the GCC is sprint wins with 14.
• In her 24th year leading the San Diego State water polo program, head coach Carin Crawford has amassed 472 career victories.
 
-SDSU-