FRESNO, Calif. – San Diego State water polo, the 3-seed in the Golden Coast Conference (GCC) Tournament and the No. 16-ranked team in the nation, got four goals from senior Claudia Valdes, outscored 6-seed Azusa Pacific 11-4 in the second and third quarters, and cruised to a 19-10 win in a quarterfinal matchup on Friday at Fresno State’s Aquatics Center.
With the win, SDSU (18-9) is now 6-0 in quarterfinal games in the GCC Tournament and advances to the semifinals for the 12th time in its 12 years as a member of the league. In addition, the Aztecs improved to 4-0 against Azusa Pacific (APU) in the conference tournament, including a 2-0 record in the quarterfinal round. San Diego State will play 2-seed Fresno State at noon on Saturday for the chance to compete for the conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
In addition to Valdes’ offensive prowess, the Scarlet and Black got hat tricks from Hannah Bell and Mimi Stoupas. Sydney Gish and Megan Holcomb each scored twice, while Sammi Byers, Shannon Murphy, Ioanna Petiki, Poppy Phillips and Julianne Stark each bent the net once.
In goal, Mandy Lagerlof (12-4) played the first half, made six saves, stopped six shots and had a steal in earning the victory. Tiaare Ahovelo was in the cage in the second half and stopped five of the Cougars’ shots while surrendering four goals.
Petiki led the team with four assists and Valdes added two, leaving the pair with 62 assists each this season and in a tie for fourth place on the program’s single season list. Holcomb, Stark and Sullivan totaled two, one, and one assists, respectively.
Stoupas, the GCC Player of the Year, opened the scoring at the 6:11 mark with Valdes getting credited with the assist. The Cougars clawed back, with 5:03 to go in the opening stanza, to even the score on a goal from Jessie Nelson. The Scarlet and Black went back in front less than a minute later on a Valdes score at 4:20, but APU’s Evelyne Prado tied the game at 2-2 with 3:13 on the clock.
However, 15 seconds after Prado scored, Petiki set up Bell’s first tally to give SDSU the lead back, 3-2. Phillips made it a two-goal game, 4-2, at 2:09, with Petiki garnering her second assists of the period. After an exclusion against Natalia Barrot at 1:17, it took 15 seconds for Azusa Pacific’s Audrey Dexter to cut the Aztecs lead in half, 4-3, which was the score at the end of the first eight minutes.
The Cougars (17-12) tied the game 4-4 with the initial tally of the second period; a power play goal from Bailey Hollick 32 seconds in. Murphy put SDSU in front for good with a power play goal of her own at the 6:58 mark with Petiki picking up her third assist of the contest on the strike. Gish drew an exclusion at 6:08 and then scored on the ensuing power play to make it 6-4 with 5:56 before the intermission. Valdes then scored at the 5:22 mark, her second of the contest, to give San Diego State its biggest lead to that point, three goals, 7-4.
Following an Aztecs’ timeout, APU scored on a Montana George shot to make it 7-5 with 2:20 to go, but Holcomb got the goal back at the 1:52 mark, after being set up by Julianne Stark. Just 31 seconds later, on an assist by Holcomb, Bell picked up her second tally to make it 9-5. With 31 seconds on the clock, APU’s Dexter scored, but it took only 12 seconds for Stark to bend the net to make it 10-6 at the half.
San Diego State took complete control of the game scoring the first four goals of the second half. Stoupas, set up by Valdes at 7:06, got the run started and Valdes completed the hat trick at 5:25 to make it 12-6. Petiki picked up her fourth assist on the Valdes goal. Then, at the 4:42 mark, Gish scored on a penalty shot and 29 seconds later Petiki found the back of the net to make it 14-6. APU, after being held off the scoreboard for six-plus minutes, saw Nelson pick up a hat trick of her own with a goal with 1:58 on the clock, but Bell, off an assist from Holcomb, completed her own hat trick 20 seconds later to send the game to the final period with SDSU up 15-7.
Valdes, on a penalty shot at 7:26, and Stoupas, at 6:40, gave the Aztecs a double-digit advantage, 17-7. APU’s Prado got it back to single digits, 17-8, on a power play at the 6:10 mark, and it was 17-9 on another George goal with 3:19 to go.
Avery Sullivan set up Byers for a goal of the game, at 2:37, but nine seconds later, Nelson scored to trim SDSU’s lead to 18-10. Holcomb tallied the final score of the game, with 1:05 left to play, for the 19-10 victory.
SDSU’s 19 goals are its most in a GCC Tournament game, eclipsing the 16 scored in a 16-9 win over California Baptist on April 26, 2024.
Azusa Pacific’s offense was paced by Nelson’s hat trick and in goal, Daniela Herrero Miralles surrendered 19 goals and made nine saves to go along with a pair of steals.
Azusa Pacific: 3-3-1-3 - 10
San Diego State: 4-6-5-4 - 19
Azusa Pacific Goals: Nelson (3), Dexter (2), George (2), Prado (2), Hollick (1)
San Diego State Goals: Valdes (4), Bell (3), Stoupas (3), Gish (2), Holcomb (2), Byers (1), Murphy (1), Petiki (1), Phillips (1), Stark (1)
Azusa Pacific Saves: Miralles (9)
San Diego State Saves: Lagerlof (6), Ahovelo (5)