March 12, 2005
SAN DIEGO - The 11th-ranked San Diego State water polo team split two games in a Saturday doubleheader at the Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center. The Aztecs dropped the morning matchup with No. 1 UCLA, 12-3, and defeated Bucknell, 10-4, in the second game. With the split, SDSU's record stands at 8-8 overall and 2-4 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
The Aztecs started off slow against UCLA (18-0; 5-0), as the Bruins jumped out of the gate early, receiving a goal apiece from Kelly Rulon, Natalie Golda and Kristina Kunkel, all within the first two minutes of the game. The Bruins would later score a pair of goals to end the quarter and take a 5-0 lead after one.
In the second, the Aztecs settled down and only allowed one UCLA goal. Unfortunately, SDSU could not find the back of the net and found itself trailing 6-0 at halftime.
At the 5:13 mark of the third quarter, Becca Ur got the Aztecs on the board, scoring her 11th goal of the season. UCLA responded with a goal of its own and SDSU countered with an Ashley Reta goal with 1:48 left in the quarter to make the score 7-2.
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In the final period, the Bruins came out attacking, putting three more on the board before Cia Cobb scored with just under four minutes remaining. That was all the scoring the Aztecs would receive for the game as UCLA put two more past SDSU goalkeeper Sarah Kilgore to give the game its final score. Kilgore ended the contest with eight saves.
Later in the day, after a 1-1 first period, SDSU took a 5-2 lead over Bucknell (11-3) and broke the game open thanks to four Aztec goals. In the quarter, Rachel Serna, Elana Cervantes, Cassie Zebisch and Savanah Kelley all found the back of the net to give SDSU a lead it would not relinquish.
In the third period, Kelley scored once again to put the Aztecs up 6-2, but Bucknell's Meg Blitzer responded with a goal of her own to cut the lead in half. About a minute later, Stacy Werner put one past Bison goalkeeper Mandy Bynum to give SDSU a 7-3 advantage going into the final quarter.
After Bucknell's Cody Keffer scored with 5:21 remaining, Cervantes tallied two more goals and Kelley added another giving each of them a hat trick for the game. It is Cervantes' fourth hat trick of the season and third in four games, while Kelley is accomplishing the feat for first time of her career.
The Aztecs will be back in action tomorrow at 10 a.m. when they host Cal State Northridge and at 2:30 p.m. when they take on Princeton. Both games will be at the Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center.
#1 UCLA 5-1-1-5-- 12#11 SDSU 0-0-1-2--3
UCLA Goals: Thalia Munro - 2, Kristina Kunkel - 2, Brittany Rowe - 2, Monique Blanchard, Kelly Rulon, Natalie Golda, Kacy Kunkel, Molly Cahill, Jillian Kraus
SDSU Goals: Becca Ur, Ashley Reta, Cia Cobb
UCLA Goalie Saves: Emily Feher - 7
SDSU Goalie Saves: Sarah Kilgore - 8
Bucknell 1-1-1-1-- 4#11 SDSU 1-4-2-3--10
Bucknell Goals: Meg Blitzer - 2, Cody Keffer, Jessica Trimis
SDSU Goals: Elana Cervantes - 3, Savanah Kelley - 3, Ashley McCullum, Rachel Serna, Stacy Werner, Cassie Zebisch
Bucknell Goalie Saves: Mandy Bynum - 9
SDSU Goalie Saves: Sarah Kilgore - 4