March 15, 2008

SAN DIEGO - The No. 6 San Diego State women's water polo team erupted for four goals in the final quarter to lift it to a 9-7 victory over Mountain Pacific Sports Federation foe and 14th-ranked Long Beach State before downing Colorado State, 13-6, on Saturday afternoon. The Aztecs improve to 19-2 overall and 5-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

San Diego State 9, Long Beach State 7
Anna Gonzales led all players with three tallies, while Erinn Greenwood notched two key goals in the fourth period. Also earning their way into the scoring column were Sarah Brady, Ronni Gautschi, Danielle Pelke and Jenna Schuster. Heather Fenske anchored the Aztec defense with 13 saves.

Both teams came out aggressive on the offensive end with LBSU taking a 5-3 lead after the first quarter. The 49ers dented the scoreboard first with Rachelle Denaro finding the back of the net at the 6:20 mark, but Gonzales countered just 19 seconds later and then struck again with 5:04 on the clock to give the Aztecs a 2-1 advantage. After another LBSU goal, Schuster regained the lead for the Scarlet and Black, but The Beach then scored three unanswered to close out the period.

Gonzales scored the only goal of the second quarter on a penalty shot to cut the deficit to one at the half.

LBSU, which hadn't scored since the first quarter, got back on the board five minutes into the third period, but again the Aztecs responded, this time with Brady earning the tally.

The Aztecs took over in the fourth quarter, with Greenwood evening the score at six. Pelke then gave SDSU its first lead since the 4:08 mark in the first period before Gautschi scored to put the Aztecs up 8-6. LBSU added one more tally before Greenwood scored the final goal to secure the 9-7 victory.

No. 6 San Diego State 9, No. 14 Long Beach State 7
Aztec Aquaplex -- San Diego, Calif.
March 15, 2008

LBSU 5-0-1-1 -- 7
SDSU 3-1-1-4 -- 9

LBSU goals: Denaro 2, Emerick 2, Lee, Leonard, Sieprath.
SDSU goals: Gonzales 3, Greenwood 2, Brady, Gautschi, Schuster, Pelke.

SDSU goalie saves: Fenske 13.

San Diego State 13, Colorado State 6
SDSU defeated Colorado State, 13-6, marking the Scarlet and Black's third double-digit scoring game in its last four outings. Jenna Schuster led 10 Aztec scorers with a hat trick, while Katie Bentley played three quarters in front of the net, turning away seven shots.

The Rams struck first, but SDSU ended up taking a 5-3 advantage after the first period. The Aztecs carried their momentum into the second frame as Fallon Newman scored her first goal of the season with one second remaining in the half, giving the Aztecs a commanding 9-3 lead at the break.

CSU closed the gap to three late in the third quarter, but Ronni Gautschi found the back of the net as time was winding down to put the Aztecs up 10-6.

SDSU's defense stepped up in the final eight minutes, holding Colorado State scoreless, while notching three tallies for the 13-6 victory.

San Diego State will continue action at the Aztec Invitational with two games tomorrow. The Scarlet and Black will take on Princeton at 10:30 a.m. (PDT) before its tournament finale against Cal State Bakersfield at 1:30 p.m. (PDT).

No. 6 San Diego State 13, Colorado State 6
Aztec Aquaplex - San Diego, Calif.
March 15, 2008

Colorado State 3-0-3-0 -- 6
SDSU 5-4-1-3 -- 13

Colorado State goals: Chambers, McCullough, Nadasdy, Victoria, Quinn, Pavlik.
SDSU goals: Schuster 3, Greenwood 2, Brady, Elliott, Gonzales, Gautschi, Klein, J. Vessey, Ur, Newman.

SDSU goalkeeper saves: Bentley 7, Fenske 2.