SDSU goes 3-1 in UCSB Invite

by Antonio Morales • February 1, 2011

Sports

Head coach Carin Crawford said she was “extremely encouraged” by her team’s play, File Photo

Tied at 11 with time winding down in the fourth quarter, seventh-ranked Michigan’s Ryley Plunkett scored to give her team a win on Sunday against 11th-ranked San Diego State (3-1), handing SDSU its first loss at the UC Santa Barbara Winter Invite.

SDSU water polo head coach Carin Crawford said a couple of bad stretches during the game cost the Aztecs.

“I think we had a bad second quarter,” she said. “We scored the first two goals then gave up four straight goals after giving ourselves a two-goal lead. We fought back and tied it in the third but we didn’t really execute in the fourth”.

SDSU and Michigan (8-2) were tied after one quarter, and stayed tied for three quarters until Plunkett scored in the final minutes of the fourth to give Michigan the win. Sophomores Amber Pezzolla and Alex Ford and juniors Leanne Ford and Kimmy Keach each had two goals apiece for the Aztecs.

Junior utility Meaghan Poland said there were some bright spots in the game even though the team took home a loss.

“We had awesome team play,” Poland said. “We played tough and things were working well offensively. We didn’t crash like we should have defensively and that was the difference in the game.”

Before the Michigan game, SDSU won its first two games at the UCSB Invite on Saturday. The Aztecs took down Sonoma State, 24-3, with sophomore driver Rachel Miller piling up four goals.

Later that day, the team defeated the host school, 12th-ranked UCSB, 13-9. Pezzolla, Ford and Poland each scored twice as SDSU held off UCSB after going into the half with a two-goal lead.

After losing to Michigan on Sunday, the Aztecs raced out to an 8-3 halftime lead and downed Concordia 13-5 to earn their third win of the weekend.

While the loss to Michigan stung, Crawford was satisfied with the weekend.

“We would have liked to go 4-0 for the weekend but 3-1 isn’t bad,” she said. “I’m extremely encouraged with the weekend.”

SDSU water polo head coach Carin Crawford said a couple of bad stretches during the game cost the Aztecs.“I think we had a bad second quarter,” she said. “We scored the first two goals then gave up four straight goals after giving ourselves a two-goal lead. We fought back and tied it in the third but we didn’t really execute in the fourth”.SDSU and Michigan (8-2) were tied after one quarter, and stayed tied for three quarters until Plunkett scored in the final minutes of the fourth to give Michigan the win.

Sophomores Amber Pezzolla and Alex Ford and juniors Leanne Ford and Kimmy Keach each had two goals apiece for the Aztecs.Junior utility Meaghan Poland said there were some bright spots in the game even though the team took home a loss.“We had awesome team play,” Poland said. “We played tough and things were working well offensively. We didn’t crash like we should have defensively and that was the difference in the game.”Before the Michigan game, SDSU won its first two games at the UCSB Invite on Saturday.

The Aztecs took down Sonoma State, 24-3, with sophomore driver Rachel Miller piling up four goals. Later that day, the team defeated the host school, 12th-ranked UCSB, 13-9. Pezzolla, Ford and Poland each scored twice as SDSU held off UCSB after going into the half with a two-goal lead.After losing to Michigan on Sunday, the Aztecs raced out to an 8-3 halftime lead and downed Concordia 13-5 to earn their third win of the weekend.While the loss to Michigan stung,

Crawford was satisfied with the weekend. “We would have liked to go 4-0 for the weekend but 3-1 isn’t bad,” she said. “I’m extremely encouraged with the weekend.”

The Daily Aztec

The Daily Aztec

The Daily Aztec

SDSU goes 3-1 in UCSB Invite