LA JOLLA, Calif. – Claudia Valdes scored six times and Mimi Stoupas struck five times for the No. 18-ranked San Diego State water polo team as it split a pair of games on day two of the Triton Invitational at UC San Diego’s Triton Pool.
The split leaves SDSU at 3-4 for the year and sets the team up for its final game of the event against Cal state Fullerton on Sunday at 10:20 a.m. (PT) at Canyonview Pool.
No. 18 San Diego State 16, Concordia 5
Eight Aztecs appeared in the scoring column led by four goals from Claudia Valdes in the team’s 16-5 demolition of Concordia.
Joining Valdes in the scoring frenzy were Mimi Stoupas, who scored three times, Hannah Bell, Amanda Chambers, Rose Kanemy, and Luna Sarmiento who banged the back of the cage two times each and Sydney Gish and Delanney Ewing rounded out the goals with one each. Ava Ratajczak played the first 16 minutes making four saves and letting three by while Tiaare Ahovelo played the second half letting two in and making five saves. Each goalie was credited with an assist.
The Aztecs who lost to California Baptist 14-11 in its first game of the day made Concordia pay for it. SDSU ripped off six straight goals to open the contest and it was pretty much over after that.
Valdes scored twice in the first 1:20 followed by goals from Stoupas, Sarmiento, Kanemy, and Bell at 5:59, 5:10, 4:37 and 2:39, respectively, to stake the Scarlet and Black to a six-goal lead. The Golden Eagles picked up the final two tallies of the opening period and the teams went to the second with SDSU up 6-2.
The opening goal of the next quarter, a Concordia score, took over three minutes to happen, but was followed by three straight strikes for San Diego State. Kanemy scored with 4:32 on the clock, was followed by Stoupas at 2:53, and Ewing with 57 seconds left to send the game to the half with SDSU up 9-3.
Each team scored twice coming out of the break with the Aztecs pushing their lead to 11-3 on goals from Valdes and Chambers at 7:30 and 5:24, respectively. The Golden Eagles picked up the last two goals of the quarter to send the game to the final eight minutes with the Scarlet and Black leading 11-5.
The fourth quarter was all SDSU. Sarmiento scored at the 5:38 mark. Valdes got her fourth of the game with 4:01 to play, followed by Chambers, at 3:13, Bell with 2:31 to play and Gish with 132 ticks left on the clock for the final score of 16-5.
San Diego State: 6-3-2-5 - 16
Concordia: 2-1-2-0 - 11
San Diego State Goals: Valdes (4), Stoupas (3), Bell (2), Chambers (2), Kanemy (2), Sarmiento (2), Ewing (1), Gish (1)
Concordia Goals: Tyukasz (3), Ferguson (1), Smith (1)
San Diego State Saves: Ahovelo (5), Ratajczak (4)
No. 22 California Baptist 14, No. 18 San Diego State 11
Makena Macedo scored three times, and the Aztecs led 4-2 after one period, but could not maintain its advantage and lost 14-11 in their first game of the day.
In addition to Macedo’s three strikes, Claudia Valdes, Jessica Start and Mimi Stoupas each scored twice, and Shannon Murphy and Luna Sarmiento totaled a goal apiece for the Scarlet and Black. In goal, Tiaare Ahovelo played the first half allowing seven goals and making four saves while Mandy Lagerlof got the second 16 minutes in the cage and surrendered seven goals and stopped five shots. Lagerlof added a steal and Ahovelo garnered an assist.
Valdes got things going with the opening salvo 30 seconds in and by the 6:22 mark, on Murphy’s goal, SDSU was up 2-0. The Lancers sliced the lead in half with their first strike with 4:53 to play in the quarter, but 70 seconds later, Valdes scored her second of the period to give the Aztecs a 3-1 advantage. The last two goals of the opening eight minutes came with a CBU goal at the 1:39 mark and was followed by Sarmiento’s strike which sent the game to the second period with SDSU up 4-2.
The second stanza saw California Baptist score five unanswered goals which turned the two-goal Aztec lead into a three-goal disadvantage. San Diego State’s only tally of the period came from the arm of Macedo with one second left on the clock, which sent the game to the intermission with CBU up 7-5.
Coming out of the break, the Aztecs scored one goal to California Baptist’s three in the first 5:27 to push its lead to 10-6. The lone SDSU goal came from Stoupas, but in the final 2:33, the Scarlet and Black reversed the trend, scoring three times to the Lancers once. Macedo banged the back of the cage on successive goals; at 2:33 and 1:33 followed by a Stark strike with 50 seconds to play to draw the Aztecs to within a goal, 10-9. But with 25 seconds left, CBU scored to head to the final stanza with a 11-9 over San Diego State.
After California Baptist extended its lead to 12-9 at the 4:36 mark, Stark scored just eight seconds later to make it 12-10. Of the final three tallies, SDSU was able to score just once, by Stoupas with 1:56 to play and the final score was 14-11.
San Diego State: 4-1-4-2 - 11
California Baptist: 2-5-4-3 - 14
San Diego State Goals: Macedo (3), Stark (2), Stoupas (2), Valdes (2), Murphy (1), Sarmiento (1)
California Baptist Goals: Kahahawai (4), Hutton (3), Bergquist (2), Lehoczky (2), Beringer (1), Carter (1), Gates (1)
San Diego State Saves: Lagerlof (5), Ahovelo (4)