After scoring three goals in the final minute and a half of regulation, APU goes down to San Diego State in OT

 

During the week, Azusa Pacific water polo reached the top-25 for the first time in school history, making the match against San Diego State University the first ranked matchup between the two schools. San Diego State led for a majority of the match, but the Cougars were able to keep the match within reach until overtime, when the Aztecs scored two goals to win 10-8.

“I think our girls played strong,” head coach Julie Snodgrass said. “They obviously played through the whole fourth quarter with the three goals in two minutes, and that’s really a rush. I think they definitely had that passion and intensity. Overtime is always rough because there is not a lot of possessions and a lot of ball-control gaming going on, but overall, I think they played really well. I’m really proud of them. I think it is really good for the program to be as consistent as we are being right now with competing with top-20 teams.”

SDSU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with goals from Hannah Carrillo and Courtney Jarvis, but the Cougars were able to take advantage of a powerplay with two minutes left in the first quarter to cut the lead in half.

Riding the momentum of the late goal, the Cougars pulled ahead in the second quarter with goals from sophomores Sarah Adams and Mireia Tutusaus Alcaraz. Not long after the Cougars scored their third goal did the Aztecs respond with a third of their own, as Karli Canale took advantage of a powerplay with just over four minutes remaining. The teams would battle back and forth for the remainder of the half, but they would head into the third quarter tied at three.

“I think that Tutu [Alcaraz] did a good job on countering to score that first goal, and then she kept countering to put pressure on them and they had to respond,” Adams said.

As they did in the first half, the Aztecs scored two goals before Azusa Pacific could respond. The Cougars pulled one back thanks to junior Mar Pastor Alvarez with just over a minute left, but San Diego State added another with 12 seconds left in the third, making the score 6-4.

Senior Brit Harris kicked off the fourth quarter with a goal for the Cougars, but the comeback was short-lived. San Diego State added two of their own to increase their lead to three goals.

As was the story of the afternoon however, APU battled back. Pastor Alvarez started the second comeback attempt with a goal at the minute-thirty mark. Then Harris found the back of the net with just under a minute remaining before freshman Hannah Bradley tied the game at eight with just over thirty seconds in regulation.

“We didn’t lose hope. We tried different things, we listened to the coaching, we trusted in the system, and we kept our cool when calls weren’t going our way,” senior goalkeeper Erica Marquez said. “We didn’t lose faith and we kept trucking along and it paid off. We got some offensives, and that’s ultimately what got us three goals in under two minutes.”

The Aztecs would kill off the Cougars’ momentum, however, scoring early in overtime, then finishing the job with a five-meter penalty with just over a minute remaining to make the final score 10-8.

“Going into the game, we were very positive and excited because we have had very close games with San Diego State in the past,” said Marquez. “They lost some of their key players last year and we gained some experience with our freshmen and we really thought that we could give them a good game, and we did.”

Coach Snodgrass noted that, although this wasn’t a win, it was a big statement for the program.

“As a program as a whole, I think we are definitely in conversations now. My biggest thing that I preach to the girls is growth and process in the water and out of the water too. As we stay consistent with our growth, then our process will continue to take care of itself. Just stay consistent.”

On Saturday, the Cougars split their doubleheader, losing to Brown 6-8, and then defeating Whittier by a score of 15-11. The 1-2 record from this weekend brings the Cougars overall season record to 13-12.

Azusa Pacific’s next Golden Coast Conference (GCC) match will take place in Riverside, against California Baptist on March 28.