March 19, 2016
BERKELEY, Calif. - No. 18 San Diego State fell behind early and could not rally in a 9-5 road loss at eighth-ranked California. The Aztecs received two goals from Caroline Israels, but the effort was not enough as SDSU fell to 8-12 on the year.
The Golden Bears (18-4) posted the first two goals of the game and were in control for much of the afternoon. Tayla Walsh scored her only goal of the day with 3:24 left in the first, but California hung its third goal 35 seconds later. Israels brought the Aztecs to within one goal with her first with 70 seconds left on the clock, but Sierra Smiley scored her second of the frame to give the home side a 4-2 advantage.
In the second quarter, Cal struck first again, but Nikole Ferrari responded with a goal 90 seconds into the quarter. The Golden Bears, however, answered with consecutive goals a minute apart and kept the Aztecs off the scoreboard until Ioli Benekou found the back of the cage with 39 seconds left before halftime. SDSU went into the break down, 7-4.
California maintained its three-goal cushion heading into the final period after each team scored once in the third. Emily Loughlin scored within in the first minute and Israels punched in her second of the day to make it 8-5, Golden Bears.
In the fourth quarter, Carla Carrega recorded the only goal to provide the final margin.
All told, Israels finished with two goals, while Benekou, Ferrari and Walsh all scored once. Rachel Mitchell, meanwhile, made 11 saves in net for San Diego State.
The Aztecs return to action on Thursday, March 31, when they are set to play two games in Long Beach. SDSU will face Long Beach State at noon PT before taking on Brown at 3 p.m. PT.
No. 8 California 9, No. 18 San Diego State 5
Spieker Aquatics Complex; Berkeley, Calif.
SDSU 2-2-1-0—5
CAL 4-3-1-1—9
SDSU goals: Caroline Israels 2, Ioli Benekou 1, Nikole Ferrari 1, Tayla Walsh 1
CAL goals: Sierra Smiley 3, Emily Loughlin 2, Stephanie Mutafyan 2, Carla Carrega 1, Sarah Siepker 1
SDSU saves: Rachel Mitchell 11
CAL saves: Madison Tagg 10