May 9, 2008
PALO ALTO, Calif. - The fourth-seeded San Diego State water polo team fell, 9-8, to No. 5 seed UC Davis Friday evening in the first round of the NCAA championship at the Avery Aquatic Center. With the win the Aggies improve to 27-8 overall and advance to the semifinals, while the Scarlet and Black drops to 29-7 on the season.
Jenna Schuster led the Aztec attack with a hat trick, while Ronni Gautschi and Danielle Pelke each notched two goals apiece. Erinn Greenwood rounded out the scoring and Heather Fenske recorded six saves in front of the cage.
"It seemed like we were all over the three-inch cross bar," said Aztec head coach Carin Crawford. "It was frustrating to be taking quality shots on goal and not get the conversions."
It was a defensive battle in the initial quarter with both teams unable to dent the scoreboard on their first four possessions. UC Davis finally opened the scoring at the 5:01 mark when Christi Raycraft converted on a 6-on-5 opportunity. The Aztecs responded with 3:44 left in the period as Schuster notched a power play goal on a cross-court pass from Jessica Pace-Bowers.
With the game knotted at 1-1 after eight minutes of action, the Aggies pulled ahead in the second frame with a pair of early goals. Greenwood then scored from the perimeter to get SDSU back on the board with 6:07 on the clock. The Aggies quickly regained their two-goal lead, however, with Lindsay Kiyama connecting just 47 seconds later. Gautschi brought the Aztecs back within a goal with a skip shot that found the back of the net, but Davis would take a 5-3 lead into the half after scoring with 11 seconds remaining in the period.
The Scarlet and Black cut its deficit to 5-4 at the 5:55 mark in the third stanza when Pelke converted on a penalty shot drawn by Becca Ur. Both teams were then at a stalemate on offense until the Aggies scored with 24 seconds on the clock.
Trailing 6-4 heading into the final frame, the Aztecs looked like they were set to make a quick comeback with Schuster winning the sprint and completing her hat trick from the perimeter just 23 seconds into the period. But the Aggies widened the margin once again with a pair of tallies to take their largest lead of the game at 8-5 with 3:11 remaining. Pelke made it a two-goal game when she struck from the outside for her second tally of the day. After another Davis score, SDSU stormed back with goals from Gautschi and Schuster, but it was not enough as the Aggies were able to run the clock out for the win.
San Diego State will return to the pool on Saturday, May 10, when it takes on Pomona-Pitzer at 2:15 p.m. (PDT) in the consolation round. The highest the Aztecs can finish is fifth place.
NCAA Championship: First Round
(5)UC Davis 9, (4)San Diego State 8
Avery Aquatic Center - Stanford, Calif.
May 9, 2008
UCD 1-4-1-3 -- 9SDSU 1-2-1-4 -- 8
UCD goals: Kiyama 3, Raycraft 3, Chandler 2, MotaSDSU goals: Schuster 3, Gautschi 2, Pelke 2, Greenwood
UCD goalie saves: Hines 6SDSU goalie saves: Fenske 6