SAN DIEGO – San Diego State water polo, No. 22-ranked, put together goal scoring runs on 10-0 and 5-0 against Cal State Monterey Bay in an 18-3 win, but lost to No. 12-ranked Long Beach State 14-9 in splitting the Aztecs' 2024 home opener on Saturday at the Aztec Aquaplex.
No. 22 San Diego State 18, Cal State Monterey Bay 3
Thirteen Aztecs scored at least one goal, led by Amanda Chambers' hat trick, in the Aztecs 18-3 victory over the Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday afternoon at the Aztec Aquaplex.
In addition to Chambers' trifecta of goals, Brooke Lee, Makena Macedo, Mimi Stoupas each scored twice, while Sofia Righetti, Sydney Gish, Shannon Murphy, Klara Goldstein, Claudia Valdes, Danni Croteau, Sammi Byers, Daphne Wilder and Elena Pena added a goal each.
In the cage, Mandy Lagerlof (2-0) played the first 16 minutes, stopped four shots while letting in one goal (.800 save percentage) and shared a game-high three steals in earning the win. Ava Ratajczak completed the game surrendering two goals and stopping three others (.600 save percentage) to go along with a steal.
The Aztecs got on the scoreboard first with a Righetti strike at the 6:27 mark of the first quarter but just 28 seconds later CSUMB tied the game at 1-1. That was the last time the Otters were on SDSU's radar as the Aztecs ripped off 10 unanswered goals.
The run started with a Stoupas goal with 3:40 to go in the first followed by tallies from Gish, at the 1:55 mark, and Macedo with 46 seconds to play in the opening stanza.
With a 4-1 lead after eight minutes, San Diego State scored three times in the second period and had a 7-1 lead at the intermission. The second quarter goals came from Valdes, Wilder and Goldstein, at the 5:19, 4:36 and 1:26 marks, respectively.
Coming out of the break, the Aztecs got four consecutive scores. Pena found the back of the cage just 12 seconds in, was followed by Lee, whose goal came at the 6:57 mark, and Chambers, with 4:48 to play, and Byers with 1:27 to go in the third quarter to complete the 10-0 surge. The Otters halted the run with a goal with 1:12 left, but Macedo scored with seven seconds to go and SDSU had a 12-2 lead with eight minutes to play.
In the final stanza, SDSU outscored Cal State Monterey Bay 6-1 and tallied the first five goals of the period. Croteau started things off 18 seconds in and was followed by Chambers' second goal, at the 7:15 mark. Murphy scored with 6:40 to play and pushed the Aztecs lead to 15-2. Chambers got the hat trick at the 5:15 mark to make it 16-2.
CSUMB scored to cut the advantage to 16-3, but on Lee and Stoupas' second goals of the game, at 4:04 and 2:29, respectively, the Scarlet and Black had an 18-3 win.
Cal State Monterey Bay: 1-0-1-1 - 3
San Diego State: 4-3-5-6 - 18
Cal State Monterey Bay Goals: Day (2), Eaton (1)
San Diego State Goals: Chambers (3), Lee (2), Macedo (2), Stoupas (2), Byers (1), Croteau (1), Gish (1), Goldstein (1), Murphy (1), Pena (1), Righetti (1), Valdes (1), Wilder (1)
Cal State Monterey Bay Saves: Mensing (12)
San Diego State Saves: Lagerlof (4), Ratajczak (3)
No. 12 Long Beach State 14, No. 22 San Diego State 9
Kalra Goldstein scored four goals for the No. 22 San Diego State Aztecs in a 14-9 loss to No. 12 Long Beach State.
Joining Goldstein in the scoring column were Sydney Gish with a pair of goals and Elena Pena, Mimi Stoupas and Claudia Valdes scored once each. Tiaare Ahovelo (0-2) played the entire game in goal and made 10 saves, had an assist and a steal but surrendered 14 goals in taking the loss.
The Aztecs and Beach played seven days ago and LBSU jumped out to an 8-2 lead after one quarter in a 16-9 win, but on Saturday it was a different story with the game tied 4-4 after eight minutes.
The Beach opened the scoring 21 seconds in, and Gish tied it up at the 4:19 mark. Long Beach State scored the next two goals to take a 3-1 lead with 1:29 to go. Gish's second goal, at the 1:07 mark, sliced the lead to 3-2, but LBSU got the goal back with 37 seconds on the clock. SDSU scored twice, from Pena and Stoupas, in the final seconds of the first quarter and the game went to the second period tied.
Similar to the first quarter, the Beach scored with 24 seconds expired in the second and Goldstein tied things up at the 6:27 mark. Long Beach State put three straight goals on the board and led 8-5 with a minute to go before the end of the period. Goldstein got her second goal with 32 seconds to play and SDSU trailed 8-6 at the intermission.
Coming out of the break, Goldstein scored one minute in to get the hat trick and her fourth goal came with 4:46 on the clock and the game was tied 8-8. At the 3:53 mark, Valdes' goal gave the Aztecs their first and only lead of the game, 9-8. The Beach scored the last two goals of the third quarter and the game went to the final period with Long Beach State up 10-9.
In the final stanza, San Diego State was held scoreless while giving up four goals for the final score of 14-9.
Long Beach State: 4-4-2-4 - 14
San Diego State: 4-2-3-0 - 9
Long Beach State Goals: Portillo (4), Luka (3), McCullough (2), Walker (2), Cuozzo (1), Kowalchick (1), Price (1)
San Diego State Goals: Goldstein (4), Gish (2), Pena (1), Stoupas (1), Valdes (1)
Long Beach State Saves: Oliver (7)
San Diego State Saves: Ahovelo (10)