SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – On the final day of the UCSB Winter Invite, the No. 21-ranked San Diego State water polo team defeated Pomona- Pitzer, 9-8, but fell in overtime to No. 15 Wagner, and finished 2-2 in its opening weekend of competition of the 2023 season.
No. 15 Wagner 12, No. 21 San Diego State 11
San Diego State and the Wagner Seahawks battled from the opening seconds of their Sunday morning game, where 32 minutes couldn't determine a winner. Neither team could gain more than a one goal lead and there were 11 ties, with Wagner pulling out the win in overtime, 12-11, on a last second goal.
Center Danni Croteau, who finished the game with two goals, got the scoring underway with a strike at the 5:39 mark to stake the Aztecs to the lead. Just over two minutes later, the Seahawks answered, a "one-two punch" that would be repeated 10 more times in the game.
Kendall Houck put the Scarlet and Black back in front with 2:50 to play, with her first of the day. Seventeen seconds later Wanger tied it at 2-2, the score the teams would take into the second quarter.
Samantha Loughlin picked up her second tally of the game at the 6:57 mark, but the advantage only lasted 13 seconds when the Seahawks tied it back up at 3-3.
Wagner took its only lead of regulation with 4:44 to play in the half at 4-3 and 58 seconds later it was tied at 4-4 on a Jessica Leckich goal. SDSU went back in front 5-4 with 1:13 to go on a Faith Cerussi strike, but the lead lasted just under a minute as Wagner tied it with 14 seconds before the intermission. The teams went to the half tied 5-5.
The Aztecs struck first in the third quarter, at the 6:43 mark, on Loughlin's second of the game. The Seahawks answered 16 seconds later, and 21 seconds after that goal, Croteau put her second goal in the cage to give SDSU a 7-6 lead with 6:06 left in the period.
The scoring continued at the 5:45 mark with a Seahawks tally, followed by Houck's second goal, 26 seconds later, to put the Aztecs back up, 8-7. Wagner tied it with 2:25 to go and the teams went to the fourth tied 8-8.
The last quarter saw only two goals. Amanda Legaspi gave SDSU a 9-8 lead with 7:27 to play and the Aztecs maintained the margin and looked in all likelihood to get the win, but Wagner tied it with 33 seconds left in regulation and an overtime period was needed to determine the winner.
Claudia Vales, with 1:53 to play, scored the first goal of overtime and San Diego State was back in front 10-9, which lasted 29 seconds before the Seahawks evened it again at 10-10.
Valdes found the back of the cage with 48 seconds to go to give the Aztecs an 11-10 lead. Wagner tied it with 28 seconds left and did the Aztecs in at the last second with the game winner and a 12-11 win.
Wagner: 2-3-3-1-3 - 12
San Diego State: 2-3-3-1-2 - 11
Wagner Goals: Alonso (3), Simshauser (3), Nankervis (2), Navarro (2), Arias (1), Nash (1)
San Diego State Goals: Croteau (2), Houck (2), Loughlin (2), Valdes (2), Cerussi (1), Leckich (1), Legaspi (1)
San Diego State Saves: Ahovelo (6), Lagerlof (9)
No. 21 San Diego State 9, Pomona-Pitzer 8
San Diego State spotted the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens, the No. 1 ranked Division III team in the nation, four goals and trailed at one point 6-1, before roaring back to win 9-8 in its final game at the UCSB Winter Invite.
Down 4-0 with 35 seconds to play in the opening eight minutes, Amanda Legaspi scored the first of her game-high four goals, to get San Diego State on the scoreboard. But before the horn blew Pomona-Pitzer scored again and sent the game to the second quarter with the Aztecs behind 5-1.
The deficit grew to five goals, 6-1, with 2:01 to play in the half, but Faith Cerussi's goal with 57 seconds left sent the teams to the intermission with the Aztecs down 6-2.
The first two goals of the third quarter were scored by Legaspi, at the 6:51 mark, and Katie Ratcliff, with 5:32 to play in the period, to get the Aztecs to within two goals at 6-4. Pomona-Pitzer pushed its lead back to three on the final score of the third to make it 7-4 heading into the final eight minutes.
SDSU scored five times in the fourth quarter, starting with three unanswered goals in the first three minutes.
Legaspi got the first at the 6:07 mark, followed by a Shannon Murphy strike with 5:37 left, and capped by a score with 5:01 to play by Claudia Valdes to tie the game 7-7.
The Sagehens took their final lead of the day, 8-7, with 4:23 to go, but just under two minutes later, at the 2:28 mark, Sydney Gish scored her first of the game to tie it.
Then with just 17 seconds to play, Legaspi fired home the game winner to give San Diego State a 9-8 victory.
Pomona-Pitzer: 5-1-1-1 - 8
San Diego State: 1-1-2-5 - 9
Pomona-Pitzer Goals: Jachung (2), Weisenthal (2), Amberger (1), Gaither (1), Lewis (1), Sczcerba (1)
San Diego State Goals: Legaspi (4), Cerussi (1), Gish (1), Murphy (1), Ratcliff (1), Valdes (1),
San Diego State Saves: Ahovelo (5), Lagerlof (2)
The Aztecs next compete at the Triton Invitational in La Jolla, Calif., from February 3-5 at UC San Diego.