April 25, 2015
STOCKTON, Calif. - - The top-seeded San Diego State water polo team suffered a 9-5 setback at the hands of No. 3 seed Loyola Marymount on Saturday in the finals of Golden Coast Conference Championship at Chris Kjeldsen Pool on the University of the Pacific campus.
The Lions (22-11) scored eight goals in the second half to pull away for the victory, quashing the Aztecs' title hopes in the GCC tournament final for the second year in a row.
SDSU (17-15) took an early lead after senior Carina Carballo (Mexico City, Mexico) hit pay dirt during a 6-on-5 opportunity with just two minutes elapsed in the game. However, the LMU defense clamped down and kept the Scarlet and Black off the scoreboard for the remainder of the half and the opening two minutes of the third quarter.
In the interim, the Lions methodically seized control with five consecutive goals, capped by Laura Lopez's strike with just 66 seconds gone by in the second half. Lopez was one of two LMU players to finish with a hat trick on Saturday, along with teammate Ivana Castro, whose tally at the 4:25 mark of the third period gave the Lions a 6-2 advantage.
Earlier in the frame, the Aztecs broke their scoring drought on a goal by sophomore Alyssa Diacono (Ladera Ranch, Calif.), while junior Nikole Ferrari (Redwood City, Calif.) found the back of the cage with 3:57 remaining in the quarter, which narrowed the gap to 6-3.
SDSU had a chance to make it a two-score game in the early moments of the fourth period; however, Carballo was stuffed at point-blank range by Lion goalkeeper Jordan White. Stung, the Aztecs yielded a pair of goals at the other end of the pool on strikes by Castro and Lopez, respectively, with the latter scored on a power play.
Trailing 8-3 with just 4:31 remaining, sophomore Caroline Israels (Pompano Beach, Fla.) scored to pull SDSU to within four, but LMU quickly answered with Lopez's third and final tally of the afternoon to essentially put the game out of reach. The Aztecs added a late goal by sophomore Ioli Benekou (Marousi, Greece) on another 6-on-5 situation with 89 seconds left, but it came too little too late.
At the conclusion of the championship, Diacono and SDSU goalkeeper Rachel Mitchell (Danville, Calif.), who made seven saves on Saturday, were named to the seven-player GCC all-tournament team.
[3] LOYOLA MARYMOUNT 9, [1] SAN DIEGO STATE 5Golden Coast Conference ChampionshipChris Kjeldsen Pool; Stockton, Calif.
LMU 1-2-3-3 -- 9SDSU 1-0-4-1 -- 5
SDSU GoalsBenekou 1, Carballo 1, Diacono 1, Ferrari 1, Israels 1
LMU GoalsCastro 3, Lopez 3, Alvarez 1, Etrata 1, Nelson 1
SDSU SavesMitchell 7
LMU SavesWhite 8