SAN DIEGO – Freshman Claudia Valdes scored three times, but the San Diego State water polo team was outscored 6-to-1 in the third quarter and lost 15-8 to the LMU Lions on Friday afternoon at Aztec Aquaplex.
With the win No. 17-ranked LMU moves to 13-14 overall, 6-1 in Golden Coast Conference (GCC) action while the No. 24-ranked Aztecs fall to 11-16, 4-3 in the GCC.
Valdes' three goals led the team while Hannah Bell, Kendall Houck, Rose Kanemy, Shannon Murphy and Ella Wiegand scored a goal each.
Trailing 3-0 after just over three minutes, San Diego State got on the board on Murphy's goal at the 3:02 mark and that tally was followed by Wiegand's as the clock expired in the first quarter to send the game to the second with the Aztecs trailing 3-2.
SDSU opened the second quarter with a Kanemy goal to tie the game 3-3 with 6:38 to play before intermission, but the Lions then scored four unanswered goals in just over two and a half minutes to go ahead 7-3. The Scarlet and Black clawed their way back into the period with a pair of goals before the halftime horn blew. Bell scored with 2:51 to play and Valdes picked up her first of the game with one second to go to send the game to the break with SDSU down 7-5.
Coming out of halftime, the Lions scored three times before San Diego State could answer.
Down 10-5, Valdes scored at the 5:31 mark, but LMU got the goal back and added two more to push its advantage to 13-6 after the third quarter.
In the fourth, Valdes picked up her eighth hat trick of the season, but each time SDSU scored the Lions answered. Houck scored the final goal of the game for San Diego State, but LMU got the final score of the contest to make it 15-8 at the final horn.
Prior to the game, the Aztecs honored four seniors – Amanda Legaspi, Katie Ratcliff, Jessica Leckich and Samantha Loughlin - who played their final regular-season home game.
LMU: 3-4-6-2 – 15
San Diego State: 2-3-1-2 – 8
LMU Goals: Barajas (3), Seletopoulou (3), Gerber (2), Ruiz (2), Akritidou (1), Gallagher (1), Lopez (1), Snelgar (1), Vilanova (1)
San Diego State Goals: Valdes (3), Bell (1), Houck (1), Kanemy (1), Murphy (1), Wiegand (1)
LMU Saves: Davie (6), Herbermann (0)
San Diego State Saves: Lagerlof (2), Ahovelo (1)