NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – The No. 21-ranked San Diego State water polo team completed the four-game, three-day Barbara Kalbus Invitational with a 13-5 defeat at the hands of the No. 9 Michigan Wolverines on Sunday morning at Bergeson Aquatic Complex. The loss left the Aztecs (3-9) in 12th place in the weekend tournament.
San Diego State got single goals from Danni Croteau, Klara Goldstein, Jessica Leckich, Claudia Valdes and Ella Wiegand. Mandy Lagerlof played all 32 minutes in goal and made a season-best 11 saves.
Trailing 2-0 after 3:48 of play in the first quarter, Croteau got SDSU on the scoreboard with her seventh goal of the year and third in the last two games. Valdes was credited with an assist on the strike, her team-leading 12th of the year. The Wolverines came back with two more tallies before Wiegand, on a power play and with an assist from Amanda Legaspi, found the back of the cage for the first goal of her college career. It sent the game to the second quarter with the score 4-2 in favor of Michigan (11-7).
In the second, Michigan rattled off the first three goals of the period to increase its advantage to 7-2 by the 4:22 mark. Leckich kept the Aztec in contact with a power play goal with 2:11 to go before the intermission. Kendall Houck picked up her seventh assist of the season on the play and after 16 minutes SDSU trailed 7-3.
The Wolverines scored twice coming out of the break and held San Diego State off the scoreboard in the third quarter to send the game to the final eight minutes with the score 9-3.
With the Michigan advantage up to 11-3 just under two minute into the fourth quarter, Goldstein tallied her eighth goal of the season to draw the Scarlet and Black to 11-4 with 4:45 to play. The Wolverines scored two more time before Valdes, with 16 second remaining in the contest, got the final goal of the day. It equaled Legaspi for the team lead in goals with 16 and Sydney Spence picked up an assist on the play, her third of the year.
San Diego State: 2-1-0-2 – 5
Michigan: 4-3-2-4 - 13
San Diego State Goals: Croteau (1), Goldstein (1), Leckich (1), Valdes (1), Wiegand (1)
Michigan Goals: Alsemgeest (3), Neustrom (2), Tovani (2), Utassy (2), Ciruli (1), Jackson (1), Monroe (1), Morrant (1)
San Diego State Saves: Lagerlof (11)
Michigan Saves: Brown (11)
No. 21 Water Polo Falls to No. 9 Michigan, 13-5
