April 20, 2012
SAN DIEGO - The No. 9 San Diego State women's water polo team wrapped up its regular-season schedule and captured the Harper Cup on Friday evening, defeating UC San Diego, 10-5. SDSU improves to 21-9 on the year, while the Tritons fall to 19-13.
The 11th annual Harper Cup was a defensive affair until the 3:41 mark when UCSD took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Sarah Lizotte. SDSU answered back just 13 seconds later when Leanne Ford notched a goal.
In the second period, Jessica Tran gave the Tritons a 2-1 advantage with 5:50 remaining. That lead was short lived though, as the Aztecs would score the next five goals. Amber Pezzolla started things off with consecutive goals and then teammate Meaghan Poland tallied back-to-back scores of her own. SDSU wasn't done yet, as Alex Ford added one more goal before halftime to give the Aztecs a 6-2 lead.
The Tritons cut the deficit to 6-4 in the third period, as Lizotte added her second and third goals of the day. Alana Burgess scored for SDSU to open the fourth, but Lizotte answered back with another goal. It was too little, too late for UCSD though, as Emily Whalen, Pezzolla and Alex Ford notched the next three goals to give the Aztecs the 10-5 victory.
Pezzolla, who scored three goals, was named co-MVP along with Lizotte who tallied a game-high four goals. This marked the first time co-MVPs have been named for the Harper Cup and the first instance in which a Triton has earned the honor.
San Diego State will now prepare for the MPSF Championship at Stanford. The league tournament is set to begin next Friday in Palo Alto, Calif. and the Aztecs will be the No. 7 seed and play a yet-to-be-determined No. 2 seed.
No. 9 San Diego State 10, UC San Diego 5
Canyonview Pool | San Diego, Calif.
SDSU 1-5-0-4--10
UCSD 1-1-2-1--5
SDSU goals: Pezzolla 3, Poland 2, A. Ford 2, Burgess, L. Ford, Whalen
UCSD goals: Lizotte 4, Tran
SDSU saves: Campoli, 13
UCSD saves: Taylor, 10
Harper Cup MVP's: Amber Pezzolla (SDSU), Sarah Lizotte (UCSD)