April 10, 2010
SAN DIEGO - The 14th-ranked San Diego State water polo team enjoyed one of its top defensive efforts of the season and held a one-goal halftime lead, but was unable to hold off No. 4 UCLA in the second half as the Aztecs dropped a 7-5 decision to the Bruins Saturday afternoon at Aztec Aquaplex. With the Senior Day loss, SDSU falls to 18-12 on the season and 0-6 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, while the Bruins improve to 17-6 (4-2 MPSF).
In the first quarter, the Aztecs delivered the opening blow by scoring the game's first two goals. Freshman standout Amber Pezzolla drew a penalty on UCLA's Heather Van Hiel nearly three minutes into the game and sophomore Leanne Ford cashed in on the opportunity, depositing her penalty shot into the upper right corner of the cage. Not three minutes later during a power-play chance, Sarah Brady found Meaghan Poland, who notched her 31st goal of the season, and gave San Diego State a 2-0 lead. Then in the final 2:15, the Bruins got on the scoreboard with thanks to Megan Burmeister and Noel Umphrey, who barely beat the first-period buzzer.
The defense in the first quarter was stellar, but both teams took it up another notch in the second. Nearly five minutes had passed before UCLA scored its third unanswered goal when Kelsey McGinley scored on a 6-on-5 opportunity. The Bruins' scoring run, however, was stopped 20 seconds later when Meghann Pedersen scored at set to tie the game at 3-3. Then after a strong defensive stand by the Aztecs, the Scarlet and Black went on a counter attack and senior Melissa de Jonckheere went strong side and put SDSU ahead, 4-3, a lead it would take into halftime.
In the third quarter, the defensive theme continued, but the Aztecs had a tough time staying at even strength. UCLA took advantage of a pair of exclusions as Kelly Easterday and Priscilla Orozco each scored once in the first 3:37 of the frame to give the visitors a 5-4 lead. Faced with another deficit, San Diego State received a much-needed goal and knotted the score at 5-5 when de Jonckheere found Leanne Ford for the power-play goal. Then with 2:17 remaining, the Aztecs swarmed KK Clark and nearly ripped the ball away, but the Bruins' sophomore found the handle and put her shot past SDSU goalkeeper Kelly Campoli (nine saves) and UCLA took a 6-5 lead into the final eight minutes.
With the game hanging in the balance, both teams found it very hard to score. After nearly seven scoreless minutes, UCLA found the opening it needed and Easterday scored her second goal of the day putting San Diego State in a two-goal hole with 1:14 left in regulation. In the final 74 seconds, the Aztecs had a chance to get within one with just over a minute to play, but had a player inside of five meters, which effectively put the game out of reach.
Prior to the start of the match, San Diego State honored its one senior in de Jonckheere. A transfer from Riverside CC, de Jonckheere finished her final regular-season home game with one goal, two assists and a steal in a starting role.
SDSU returns to action next Saturday when it heads to Arizona State for two games. The Aztecs will face the Sun Devils in their MPSF finale at 11:30 a.m. PT, before taking on Indiana at 2:30 p.m. PT.
No. 4 UCLA 7, No. 14 San Diego State 5
Aztec Aquaplex (San Diego, Calif.)
UCLA 2-1-3-1--7
SDSU 2-2-1-0--5
UCLA goals: Kelly Easterday 2, Megan Burmeister, Noel Umphrey, Kelsey McGinley, Priscilla Orozco, KK Clark
SDSU goals: Leanne Ford 2, Meaghan Poland, Meghann Pedersen, Melissa de Jonckheere
UCLA saves: Caitlin Dement - unavailable
SDSU saves: Kelly Campoli - 9