Coming off of a monumental Big West Conference win against University of Hawai’i, the No. 6 San Diego State water polo team dropped an 8-5 decision to No. 16 University of California, Santa Barbara, falling to third in the conference standings behind Hawai’i and University of California, Irvine.
As SDSU sat in the top spot of the Big West standings, the Gauchos were eager to knock the Aztecs down a peg. The Aztecs played catch-up from the first sprint, falling behind early in the contest and never recovering. The Aztecs trailed 3-2 after the first quarter and 5-3 going into halftime, after tying the match at three early in the second quarter. SDSU was able to keep UCSB off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, but the Gauchos’ three third-quarter goals put the game away. Senior utility Alex Ford and sophomore utility Taelor Moreno led SDSU in scoring with two goals apiece. Senior defender Kacey Creek and freshman utility Samantha Murphy each had three goals for UCSB. The Gauchos were able to hold senior utility and reigning conference Player of the Week Amber Pezzolla to only one goal in the game. With the loss against UCSB, SDSU carries a Big West Conference record of 4-2 and an overall record of 20-9.
Pezzolla continues to impress in her final season on Montezuma Mesa, having garnered her second Big West Player of the Week honor last week. The San Dimas native scored five goals on six attempts in the team’s win against Hawai’i and leads the Aztecs with 63 goals in only 28 games. Pezzolla and Moreno are the only SDSU players to earn Big West honors this season.
SDSU has two regular-season games remaining before the conference tournament begins in two weeks. If the Aztecs can win the Big West Conference tournament, they will travel to Harvard University in hopes of winning a national title. SDSU last earned a bid to the national tournament in 2008, under the leadership of two-time All-American Anna Gonzales.
Both of SDSU’s remaining regular-season games take place at the Aztec Aquaplex. The Aztecs host the University of Pacific at noon on Saturday before battling the University of California, San Diego for the Harper Cup at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 20.
