Feb. 10, 2008
LA JOLLA, Calif. - In its 13th season of competing at the Triton Invitational, the sixth-ranked San Diego State water polo team won its first-ever championship at the annual event as the Aztecs rallied in the second half to post a 10-9 comeback victory against No. 12 Loyola Marymount. SDSU reached the title game with an 8-6 triumph over 16th-ranked UC Santa Barbara earlier in the day, while LMU defeated UC Irvine, 9-8, in its semifinal match.
With the win, the Aztecs improved on their second-place finish a year ago and avenged their 8-6 loss to the Lions in the 2007 Triton Invitational championship game.
LMU, who led until late in the fourth quarter, dented the scoreboard first, going up 2-0 after the first eight minutes of play, and took a 5-2 lead into the half. The Aztecs used a five-goal outburst in the third quarter to pull within one (8-7), before outscoring the Lions 3-1 in the final period. Junior Jenna Schuster knotted the score at 9-9 at the 2:19 mark before scoring the game-winning goal with under a minute to play.
Loyola Marymount had an opportunity to tie the game with 21 seconds remaining as they drew an ejection for a 6-on-5 advantage, but with excellent defense from the Aztecs and a Lion shot attempt going over the crossbar, SDSU was able to hold on for the victory.
Junior Anna Gonzales led all Aztec scorers with four goals, while Schuster added three. Junior Erinn Greenwood chipped in two tallies and sophomore Danielle Pelke also found the back of the net for SDSU. Senior goalkeeper Heather Fenske recorded five saves.
In their semifinal match against UCSB, the Aztecs went up 4-1 at intermission and never looked back. Greenwood paced the Scarlet and Black with four goals and added a team-high six ejections drawn. Pelke dented the scoreboard three times, while Schuster rounded out SDSU's scorers. Senior Becca Ur led the defense with four steals and Fenske turned away 10 Gaucho shots.
The Aztecs went 4-0 on the weekend to improve their overall record to 5-0.
San Diego State will look to maintain its unblemished record at the Princeton Invitational, Feb. 16-17, in Princeton, N.J.
Triton Invitational
Canyonview Aquatic Center -- La Jolla, Calif.
Feb. 10, 2008
Championship Game
No. 6 San Diego State 10, No. 12 Loyola Marymount 9
SDSU 0-2-5-3 -- 10
LMU 2-3-3-1 -- 9
SDSU goals: Gonzales 4, Schuster 3, Greenwood 2, Pelke.
LMU goals: Wike 3, Abrams 2, Campos 2, Hughes, Romero.
SDSU goalie saves: Fenske 5.
Semifinal Game
No. 6 San Diego State 8, No. 16 UC Santa Barbara 6
SDSU 1-3-2-2 -- 8
UCSB 0-1-2-3 -- 6
SDSU goals: Greenwood 4, Pelke 3, Schuster.
UCSB goals: Clark 2, Buchanan, Kepner, Knott, Tipton.
SDSU goalie saves: Fenske 10.