Feb. 22, 2014
Irvine, Calif.----- Sophomore Rae Leknesstied the San Jose State University single-match scoring record of eight goals in the Spartans' 11-8 win over the University of the Pacific highlighting first-day action at the UC Irvine Invitational women's water polo tournament.
Lekness, from Calgary, Alberta, scored twice on penalty shots and twice on power plays en route to tying the San Jose State mark first set by Allie Stewart in a January 23, 2011 against Hartwick.
"Rae was in the right place at the right time. Her teammates got her open and her teammates got her the ball a lot," said San Jose State interim head coach Johnny Begaabout Lekness' success for finding the cage. The Spartan sophomore became the 17th San Jose State player to reach the 100-career goal mark in the victory with 103 and has 49 on the season.
The #11-ranked Spartans (12-6) ended splitting their two matches on the day losing to #7-ranked Arizona State in their opening match, 15-10.
The Sun Devils (7-3) scored the first three goals and maintained at least a two-goal lead the rest of the way. The Spartans trailed 5-3 in the second quarter, but Arizona State scored the next four goals and took an insurmountable 9-3 halftime lead.
Clara Espar Llaquetscored three of her four goals on the day for San Jose State in the loss to Arizona State. She also reached the 50-goal plateau for the season after 17 games - the fastest ever by a San Jose State player. The freshman from Barcelona, Spain goes into Sunday's tournament matches with a team-high 53 goals.
Timi Molnarmatched Espar Llauqet with three against Arizona State and one in the Pacific win.
"We started out slow defensively (against Arizona State), but we got stronger as the day wore on. Our defense was stronger in the second match. That's what we need to help our goalie," added Bega. Starting goalkeeper Maddie Reardonwas credited with one save against Arizona State and seven in the win over Pacific.
"We still need to execute better (on offense). 11-of-30 (shooting vs. Pacific) is not executing like we need to."
San Jose State plays its first match on Sunday, February 23, against #6-Hawaii or #18-San Diego State at 9:15 a.m.
UC Irvine Women's Water Polo Tournament
Newport Beach, Calif.
February 22, 2014
| Game 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #11-San Jose State (11-6) | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| #7-Arizona State (7-3) | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
Goal Scoring |
San Jose State - Clara Espar Llaquet & Timi Molnar, 3, each; Victoria Smith, 2; Rae Lekness & Bianca Seyfert, 1, each. |
Arizona State - Alkistis Benekou & Izabella Chiappini, 5; Ao Gao, 2; Annie Kertes, Liz Kreek, Petra Pardi, 1, each. |
| Goalkeeper Saves |
San Jose State - Maddie Reardon, 3. |
Arizona State - E.B. Keeve, 8. |
Ejections |
San Jose State - 14 |
Arizona State - 8 |
Game 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #11-San Jose State (12-6) | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
| Pacific (4-9) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
Goal Scoring |
San Jose State - Rae Lekness, 8; Clara Espar Llaquet, Rachel Henry, Timi Molnar, 1, each. |
Pacific - Taylor Adair, 4; Gracie Smith, 2; Brydie Pye, Rebecca Wright, 1, each. |
Goalkeeper Saves |
San Jose State - Maddie Reardon, 7. |
Pacific - Meghan Nee, 5. |
Ejections |
San Jose State, 11. |
Pacific, 13. |