CLAREMONT, Calif. – No. 25 San Diego State water polo swept its first two games at The Claremont Convergence, 15-13 over No. 23 Marist and 12-10 against host Pomona-Pitzer, on Friday afternoon. The victories improve SDSU's record to 9-6 on the season and are the most victories through 15 games since the 2014 team had a 10-5 record after 15 games.
No. 25 San Diego State 15, No. 23 Marist 13
Claudia Valdes and Klara Goldstein each had a hat trick, and the Aztecs grabbed the lead late in the first quarter and never let go, as the No. 25-ranked Aztecs defeated No. 23 Marist 15-13 in SDSU's first game Friday afternoon at Haldeman Pool on the campus of Pomona-Pitzer.
The victory is the program's first against a higher-ranked opponent since the then No. 21-ranked Aztecs defeated No. 19 Princeton 12-11 on March 6, 2022, a span of 28 games. The win improves SDSU's record against Marist to 9-2.
Joining Valdes and Goldstein in the scoring column for the Scarlet and Black were: Lucy Bullock, Rose Kanemy, Makena Macedo and Sofia Righetti with a pair of goals each and Dani Croteau who chipped in with one tally. In the cage, Tiaare Ahovelo made five saves in 32 minutes to earn the victory.
After the Red Foxes (10-12) got the initial goal of the contest, Goldstein tied it at the 5:16 mark and 22 seconds later Marist went back ahead 2-1. It would be the last lead it would enjoy in the game.
With 4:34 to play in the quarter, Righetti tied it at 2-2 on the first of three straight goals from SDSU (8-6). Valdes followed Righetti, at 2:10 to go, and Croteau scored at the 1:14 mark to make it 4-2. Sandwiched between a pair of Marist tallies to end the period, Valdes scored her second goal of the game to send things to the second period with San Diego State up 5-4.
The teams traded the first four goals of the second. Marist tied it at 5-5, but Kanemy put the Aztecs back ahead with 3:54 to play before the break. The Red Foxes tied it again, 6-6, before Macedo scored with 2:20 and then with 23 seconds remaining to take an 8-6 lead into the intermission.
Each team scored four times in the third quarter. Kanemy led it off with a goal 20 seconds into the second half to give SDSU a three-goal advantage, 9-6, but Marist got two goals back to cut the lead to one, 9-8. Bullock answered, at the 3:18 mark, to make it 10-8 and the Red Foxes trimmed it back to a one-goal game before Goldstein and Righetti made it 12-9 and San Diego State had a 12-10 lead into the final eight minutes.
In the last quarter, the teams traded three goals apiece for the final score of 15-13. Marist scored first, and Valdes responded with her third goal of the game to make it 13-11. The Red Foxes got that goal back before Goldstein completed her hat trick with 47 seconds to play. Marist brought it back to a one goal game with 30 seconds to play, 14-13, but Bullock closed the game with a goal with one second left on the clock.
Marist – 4-2-4-3 - 13
San Diego State – 5-3-4-3 - 15
Marist Goals – Naegle (3), Brand (2), Carrington (2), Dean (2), Padilla (2), De Beer (1), McCarroll (2)
San Diego State Goals – Goldstein (3), Valdes (3), Bullock (2), Kanemy (2), Macedo (2), Righetti (2), Croteau (1)
Marist Saves – Seaboch (5)
San Diego State Saves – Ahovelo (5)
No. 25 San Diego State 12, Pomona-Pitzer 10
Claudia Valdes pounded the back of the net four times, including tallying the game winner, to lead San Diego State (9-6) over host Pomona-Pitzer 12-10 on Friday evening. Valdes, who leads the Aztecs in goals, had her fourth four-goal game and 11th multi-goal effort of the season.
In addition to Valdes, Amanda Chambers and Sydney Gish scored twice while Klara Goldstein, Rose Kanemy, Makena Macedo and Shannon Murphy added a goal apiece. Tiaare Ahovelo, in her second complete game and second win of the day, made nine saves.
In a game in which the Aztecs never trailed and extended their record to 8-0 all-time against Pomona-Pitzer, Chambers got SDSU off to a 1-0 lead at the 6:47 mark of the first period. After the Sagehens tied the game, Gish scored back-to-back goals, at 4:38 and 2:23, to give SDSU a 3-1 lead. Pomona-Pitzer, which is receiving votes in the national poll and is the No. 1-ranked Division III team in the nation, picked up the final tally of the period and sent the game to the second period with SDSU up 3-2.
Murphy, with seven minutes to play in the half, and Valdes, at the 5:29 mark of the second quarter, pushed the lead back to three goals at 5-2. The Sagehens sliced the advantage to 5-3 with 3:40 to play, but Macedo banged the back of the net 16 seconds later to make it 6-3. With 1:31 to go before the break, Pomona-Pitzer got it back to a two-goal deficit, but Goldstein scored as the half expired to send the game to the intermission with the Scarlet and Black leading 7-4.
The Sagehens made it 7-5 early in the third quarter before Valdes scored her second goal of the game to make it 8-5. Pomona-Pitzer picked up the next two goals to get the score to 8-7, but Kanemy struck with 17 seconds to play in the third to send the game to the final quarter with SDSU up 9-7.
Chambers pushed the lead to 10-7 just 35 seconds into the fourth period and it looked like San Diego State would cruise to the win, but Pomona-Pitzer scored three straight to tie the game 10-10 with 3:56 to play. Valdes put the game away with the last two goals of the game, at 1:17 and with four seconds remaining, for the 12-10 win.
San Diego State – 3-4-2-3 - 12
Pomona-Pitzer – 2-2-3-3 - 10
San Diego State Goals – Valdes (4), Chambers (2), Gish (2), Goldstein (1), Kanemy (1), Macedo (1), Murphy (1)
Pomona-Pitzer Goals – Jachung (3), Lang (3), Wiesenthal (2), Magna (1), Stigar (1)
San Diego State Saves – Ahovelo (9)
Pomona-Pitzer Saves – Amberger (12)
San Diego State wraps up play at The Convergence on Saturday with games against Biola (10:30 a.m. PT) and No. 7 UC Irvine (3:30 p.m. PT). Live stat links are available on the program's schedule page.
No. 25 Water Polo Sweep Day One at The Convergence
