No. 25 San Diego State water polo beat Concordia, 11-4, in a sunshine-filled day on March 16 at the Aztec Aquaplex.
Head coach Carin Crawford said the weather was better than it has been in the past.
“It’s great; it’s more about what we’re used to,” Crawford said. “You do have sun in your eyes, but it’s better than hail, rain and everything we’ve been through.”
Crawford said the defense was a big part in the victory.
“The defense really keyed it,” Crawford said. “(Senior driver) Hannah (Carrillo) got their best player in foul trouble right away; that went a long way toward making the game feel like a struggle for (Concordia). I think great focus on matchups and great defense keyed the run up to the offensive end.”
The Scarlet and Black’s defense was impactful with 17 steals and at least 12 Aztecs getting one takeaway.
Junior utility Isabelle Hastings, who went to nearby Mar Vista High School, led the way with three steals.
“We had great overall team defense,” Hastings said. “It was a lot of steals by everyone. Our steals to turnover ratio was plus-8. We did really well on crashing back on their double post.”
The steals created more opportunities on offense, leading to 29 shots and sophomore utility Maddie Higginson was one of four Aztecs to score twice.
“It was really nice to come together as a team and have a really good, successful win with everyone helping the team across the board,” Higginson said.
With the victory, the Aztecs (8-10, 1-1 Golden Coast Conference) got their first GCC win this season and increased their all-time record against the Eagles to 7-0.
Only getting to play conference opponents once on the schedule makes it more important for the team to stay focused.
“In the end, we are going to see them again in our conference tournament,” Higginson said. “It gives us an opening to practice playing against them.”
Over the past seven games, SDSU has learned to increase the value of unity.
“We really need to work together and it takes a team to win a game,” Higginson said. “When we work together, that’s when we get the win.”
The Aztecs will have one final game of an eight-game homestand against No. 14 Princeton on March 19.
“We are ready for a short turnaround,” Crawford said. “They are a team we have played before. They are very good, but they are a team I think we could win, and that is going to be our mentality.”
