Printer-friendly version
Aztecs split two games in La Jolla
Source: goaztecs.com
Photo courtesy goaztecs.com
February 12, 2017 (La Jolla) - No. 17 San Diego State finished in seventh place at the 16-team UCSD Triton Invitational after splitting a pair of games on Sunday. The Aztecs fell in their morning game vs. T-No. 9 UC Santa Barbara, 9-6, before rebounding to defeat T-No. 9 UC San Diego, 5-4. The outcomes put SDSU’s record at 4-4 on the season.
The Aztecs’ win vs. the Tritons represented head coach Carin Crawford’s 400th career victory. The decision over Crawford’s alma mater gives the 19th-year head coach a career record of 400-247. Crawford is a 1989 graduate of the La Jolla school.
Prior to the win over UCSD, the Aztecs hopped into the pool with the Gauchos, which was a rematch of the 2016 NCAA Championship seventh-place game.
Courtney Jarvis gave SDSU an early 1-0 lead with a goal 28 seconds into the contest, but UCSB scored four minutes later to knot the score. The Gauchos scored on back-to-back possessions with 4:35 left before halftime to move ahead by two only to have Hannah Carrillo slice SDSU’s deficit in half with a goal 90 seconds before the break.
The third quarter proved to be decisive as UC Santa Barbara outscored the Aztecs, 3-1, in the frame. The Gauchos opened with three unanswered goals and nearly kept SDSU out of the scoring column. Caroline Israels’ shot, however, found daylight and the senior scored to make it 6-3 with 1:47 left in the period.
The fourth quarter saw both teams score three times, which ultimately kept SDSU’s deficit at three goals. In the final eight minutes, the Aztecs received single goals from Ioli Benekou, Carrillo and Israels to finish out the scoring.
Kate McDonnell had 13 saves vs. the Gauchos and her effort was a prelude of what was to come as she made another 13 stops vs. the Tritons.
More than four hours later vs. UC San Diego, the Aztecs put the pressure on the Tritons, another 2016 NCAA Championship participant, from the outset. Lizzy Bilz gave SDSU a one-goal advantage and the Aztecs allowed UCSD’s Lauren Boyer to level the score with 4:12 left in the frame. San Diego State, however, responded with two Katy Schneider goals (power play and even strength) to give the visitors a 3-1 lead after one period.
In the second quarter, both teams were dialed in defensively, but it was San Diego State that kept its foe off the scoreboard. As for the Aztecs offensively, they were fueled by Alyssa Diacono’s power-play goal with 3:48 left before intermission to propel them to a 4-1 lead.
Scoring was at a premium in the second half with the Tritons notching the first goal less than two minutes into the third quarter. It would be the first of two goals for UCSD, which sandwiched an Israels goal, as San Diego State entered the final period ahead, 5-3.
In the last eight minutes, the Tritons did to the Aztecs what the Aztecs did to them in the second quarter. San Diego State’s defense, however, only broke once, allowing a Lauren Boyer goal, her second of the game, with 5:06 left and took care of business the rest of the way to preserve the one-goal margin.
The Aztecs return to action next week when they travel to Irvine for the UCI Invitational, which begins on Friday.
T-No. 9 UC Santa Barbara 9, No. 17 San Diego State 6
Triton Pool; San Diego, Calif.
SDSU 1-1-1-3—6
UCSB 1-2-3-3—9
SDSU goals: Carrillo 2, Israels 2, Benekou, Jarvis
UCSB goals: Kreiser 3, Pipkin 2, Snyder, Solberg, Thomas
SDSU saves: McDonnell 13
UCSB saves: unavailable
No. 17 San Diego State 5, T-No. 9 UC San Diego 4
Canyonview Aquatic Center; San Diego, Calif.
SDSU 3-1-1-0—5
UCSD 1-0-2-1—4
SDSU goals: K. Schneider 2, Bilz, Diacono, Israels
UCSD goals: Boyer 2, K. Schneider 2
SDSU saves: McDonnell 13
UCSD saves: unavailable
Recent comments