After taking the week off from pool action, the San Diego Statewomen’s water polo team headed north to face San Jose State andStanford this past week.
No. 8-ranked SDSU continued to play as they have all season,defeating the No. 5 Spartans, then losing to the No. 2 Cardinal(12-4). The Aztecs (14-10, 5-5 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)are now 0-4 against the top four teams in the MPSF.
Sophomore Holly Hartzell scored a late game-winner with 1:43remaining Thursday to fend off SJSU, providing the 8-7 upset victory.
Both teams started strong, scoring three goals each in the firstquarter. SDSU took a one-point lead at the half (5-4) and was able topull away after the third quarter, holding the Spartans scoreless.
San Jose State fought back in the fourth quarter, and in the spanof 2:59, three Spartans scored to tie the game 7-7, before Hartzellprovided the dramatics.
“The score was close but we dominated the whole game,” juniorAshleigh May said. “We stuck with our game plan and dictated how thegame was played.”
Hartzell led the Aztecs with three goals followed by junior AmberPrestegard with two. Junior Casey Finnegan, freshman DominiqueDelgado and senior Beth Merlo each added a goal for SDSU.
“We had a great game all four quarters, and defensively, this wasthe best game this season,” Prestegard said. “A lot of playerscontributed and when it got close in the fourth quarter, the benchstepped up to keep the lead.”
On Friday, the Aztecs faced No. 2 Stanford and started the firsthalf strong, but were shut out in the second half. The Cardinal brokea 2-all tie and finished the first quarter with a one-point lead.Stanford added four more unanswered goals in the first half to givethem a 7-2 lead just 2:40 before halftime.
SDSU was able to cut into Stanford’s lead by scoring back-to-backgoals at the end of the half, leaving the score 7-4 at halftime. Butthe second half belonged to the Cardinal as they outscored theAztecs, 5-0.
Hartzell led SDSU with two goals, while Prestegard and senior LisaWeise each added one. Goalkeeper Heather Stiles and Ashley Zabelsplit time in net, with Stiles recording one save and Zabel nettingsix.
“Stanford is a very good team and we played well against them,”May said. “We stuck with our game plan and played our own game. Wedidn’t win this game, but we keep improving as the season goes on.”
Leader of the pack
Even though she’s just a sophomore, Hartzell continues to beSDSU’s go-to player. Through the first 24 games, Hartzell leads theteam in goals attempted (100), goals scored (44), steals (32) andassists (12).
Last season, Hartzell scored 134 goals and added 41 assists tolead the Aztecs.
The waters ahead
SDSU returns home Thursday to host No. 9 Hawaii. Game time is setfor 4 p.m. at Bud Kearns Pool in Balboa Park. The Aztecs then head toLong Beach Saturday and Sunday for the Long Beach Invitational.
