Feb. 15, 2014
Davis, Calif.----- San Jose State University completed a three-match sweep at the Aggie Shootout women's water polo tournament with wins over Santa Clara University, 15-5, and CSU Bakersfield, 10-7.
Clara Espar Llaquet and Timi Molnareach scored six goals in the two wins for the #12-ranked Spartans (11-5). Espar Llaquet scored five times in the win over Santa Clara. Molnar scored three goals in each win.
"We're coming together more as a team defensively. That's what stepped up. We're shutting down what we need to shut down and we're helping Maddie a lot. She did a nice job (in goal) this weekend," said San Jose State interim head coach Johnny Begawhose team opened play with a 12-10 win over UC Davis on February 14. "Our defense is giving her the opportunity to do the job."
Reardon played the entire way in goal in the doubleheader sweep. She was credited with eight saves including a stop of one 5-meter penalty shot in the third quarter in the Santa Clara (3-6) match and seven against CSU Bakersfield (3-8). San Jose State beat CSU Bakersfield for the second time in non-conference tournament play this season.
"The other thing is we're getting deeper on our bench. We're getting more players involved. It's good to have that help, especially when we get in foul trouble. Dani Styles came in, scored a goal for us and played some nice defense," Bega added. Alisa Argendcame off the bench, too, and chipped in with a pair of assists in the Bakersfield win.
"We fixed the things we needed to fix from the past weeks," said Molnar, who now has 26 goals on the season. "Our communication is much better than before. I want to point out our 6-on-5 offense and our 5-on-6 defense because we did really, really well in all of the games. It was a good weekend.
"Our lack of communication killed our defense (early in the season). We just didn't talk. When teams were `picking on' or fronting us, we didn't know what was going on. Now, we do."
With the exception of Bakersfield taking a 2-1 lead for just under a minute late in the first quarter, the Spartans never trailed on the day. San Jose State scored four consecutive goals over a 3:15 span covering the end of the first and start of the second quarters to regain control of the nightcap.
Against #16-Santa Clara, San Jose State led 3-1 after the first quarter, 8-2 at halftime and 11-4 after three quarters.
Santa Clara (3-6) was never closer than 4-2 early in the second quarter.
San Jose State faces a tough test next weekend, February 22 and 23, as one of 16 teams in the UC Irvine Invitational. The Spartans open up with #7-Arizona State and could face as many as three top-10 teams in their four matches.
Aggie Shootout women's water polo tournament
Schaal Aquatics Complex, Davis, Calif.
February 15, 2014
| Match #3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #12-San Jose State (10-5) | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 15 |
| #16-Santa Clara (3-6) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
Goal Scoring |
San Jose State - Clara Espar Llaquet, 5; Timi Molnar, Bianca Seyfert, 3, each; Rae Lekness, 2; Victoria Smith, Cara Robinson, 1, each. |
Santa Clara - Laura Burtness, Julia Peters, 2, each; Claire Edington, 1. |
| Goalkeeper Saves |
San Jose State - Maddie Reardon -8. |
Santa Clara June Afshar - 6; Sydni Estrella, 0. |
| Ejections |
San Jose State - 8. |
Santa Clara - 7. |
| Match 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| CSU Bakersfield (3-8) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| #12-San Jose State (11-5) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 |
Goal Scoring |
| CSU Bakersfield - Kristen Jensen, 4; Janelle Shelby, Bridgette Souza, Tancy Aldridge, 1, each. |
San Jose State - Timi Molnar, Rae Lekness, 3, each; Victoria Smith, Dani Styles, Clara Espar Llaquet, Bianca Seyfert, 1, each. |
Goalkeeper Saves |
CSU Bakersfield - Courtney Wahlstrom, 11. |
San Jose State - Maddie Reardon, 7. |
| Ejections |
CSU Bakersfield - 6. |
San Jose State - 9. |