April 19, 2002
SAN DIEGO - Aztec Ashleigh May scored the game-winning goal with :03 in the game, lifting the Aztecs to an 8-7 victory over UC San Diego and capturing the inaugural "Harper Cup" at Canyonview Pool Friday evening.
For the third time this season, the cross-town rivals battled to a one-goal decision. Friday, San Diego State rallied from a 5-2 halftime deficit to claim the victory. The teams had previously split a pair of 5-4 contests.
Amber Prestegard led the Aztecs with four goals, while Holly Hartzell added three. Heather Stiles recorded fifteen saves in the cage.
The victory marks the end of the regular season for the fifth-ranked Aztecs as they improve to 18-13, 6-5 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play. The team will take a week off to prepare for the championships. The tournament will be held April 26-28 at USC's McDonald Swim Complex.
The Harper Cup was named for UCSD men's water polo coach Denny Harper, who previously coached the Triton women's team to five national championships. Harper, a 1978 graduate of SDSU, coached both UCSD women's coach Larry Sanders and Aztec coach Carin Crawford when they were students at UCSD.
1 2 3 4 TotalSDSU 1 1 3 3 8UCSD 2 3 1 1 7GoalsSDSU : Prestegard-4, Hartzell-3, May.UCSD Goals: Kudritzki-4, Silverman-2, Tucker.SavesSDSU: Stiles-15UCSD: Cornford-11