STOCKTON, Calif. – Despite a late push, the No. 23 Pacific women's water polo team (3-12) was defeated by No. 16 San Diego State (9-9), 11-9, on Saturday afternoon at Chris Kjeldsen Pool.
 
After taking down Azusa Pacific, 13-7, on Friday night for their first win since Jan. 25, the Tigers could not conjure the same momentum in their match against the Aztecs.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
 
First Half-

• Scoring just 41 seconds into play, sophomore Brianna Utas netted her first goal of the match to give the Tigers the early 1-0 advantage.
• Despite four straight goals from SDSU, Pacific would counter with a goal from junior Savannah Fitzgerald at the 1:42 mark.
• Locked in a tight battle, UOP trailed the Aztecs, 4-2, at the end of the opening frame.
• Hitting their stride, Pacific scored three goals in a row to begin the second period as Fitzgerald, Utas and sophomore Ana Martinez do Amaral helped the Tigers take their first lead of the contest (5-4) with 1:30 remaining in the half.
• Unfortunately, SDSU responded with one final goal at :09, sending the two teams into the locker room for the halftime break knotted at five. 

Second Half-

• Locking down on defense, the Aztecs would net three goals in the third period in addition to holding the Tigers scoreless.
• At the end of three, Pacific trailed SDSU, 8-5, on the scoreboard.
• Notching the hat-trick, Fitzgerald kicked off the scoring in the final period with a powerplay goal at the 6:49 mark.
• Although San Diego State followed with three more goals of their own, Pacific closed out competition by battling until the very end.
• Sophomores Lucy Davis and Toula Falvey would each find the back of the cage as the clock wound down while Fitzgerald netted her fourth and final goal of the contest with 1:46 left on the game clock.
• Ultimately, No. 16 San Diego State hung on down the stretch to secure the victory and take down No. 23 Pacific by a final score of 11-9.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• For the second straight contest, Fitzgerald netted a team-leading four goals for the Tigers. Overall, she now leads Pacific with 25 total goals on the season.
• Just like Fitzgerald, Utas also continued her hot streak with her third two-goal performance in the last three matches.
• Taking advantage when they needed to, UOP led the Aztecs in powerplay goals, 5-4.

UP NEXT:
Pacific will close out their weekend of hosting duties with a matchup against No. 2 UCLA on Sunday at Chris Kjeldsen Pool. Game time is set for 1:00 pm. Video and live stats are both available via pacifictigers.com.

FOLLOW US:
For more information and updates on the Pacific women's water polo team, please follow the team on Twitter (@Pacific_WWP), Instagram (@pacificwaterpolo) and Facebook (@pacificwomenswaterpolo).