Despite a furious rally to tie the game midway through the third quarter, the No. 22-ranked San Diego State water polo team could not keep pace with top-seeded Loyola Marymount, falling 16-10 in Saturday’s Golden Coast Conference (GCC) Tournament semifinal at Burns Aquatic Center.
After trailing by three goals at halftime, the fourth-seeded Aztecs (15-14) stormed back to even the score at 8-8 with 5:17 remaining in the third quarter, sparked by goals from Mimi Stoupas, Sydney Gish, and a second strike from Stoupas. But the Lions (19-11), ranked No. 9 nationally, closed the game on an 8-2 run to secure the victory and punch their ticket to the GCC title match.
San Diego State will now face third-seeded Pacific in the third-place game on Sunday at 11 a.m. PT.
Sammi Byers, Shannon Murphy, and Stoupas each scored twice to pace the Aztec offense, while Gish, Rose Kanemy, Makena Macedo, and Claudia Valdes added one goal apiece. On the net, sophomore Mady Lagerlof made a season-high 12 saves and added three steals despite facing relentless pressure.
Kanemy, SDSU’s all-time assist leader, continued her stellar senior campaign by dishing out three more assists, bringing her season total to 65, just four shy of the program’s single-season record set by Anique Hermann in 2014. She also became the first Aztec ever to eclipse 200 career assists, finishing the day with 201.
The match opened with a flurry of goals as LMU jumped ahead 3-1 before Byers and Kanemy combined for a quick response to pull SDSU within one. The Lions surged to a 5-2 lead, but Valdes and Murphy kept the Aztecs close, trimming the deficit to 6-4 after the first quarter.
Loyola Marymount extended its lead to 8-5 in the second quarter, but Lagerlof’s crucial penalty save late in the period helped the Scarlet and Black stay within striking distance entering halftime.
The Aztecs wasted no time after the break, as Stoupas powered in a man-up goal and Gish scored on the next possession to cut it to 8-7. Stoupas struck again minutes later to complete the comeback at 8-8. However, LMU answered with three straight goals to retake control at 11-8 entering the fourth.
Murphy added her second goal early in the final frame to momentarily slow LMU’s momentum, but the Lions’ firepower proved too much down the stretch, rattling off five goals in the quarter to pull away. Macedo tacked on a late goal for SDSU, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap.
For Loyola Marymount, Abby Gerber led all scorers with seven goals, while Tania Arino Ruiz added a hat trick. LMU goalkeeper Isabel Barnuevo finished with 11 saves.
San Diego State will look to close the season strong and secure a podium finish against Pacific on Sunday morning.