Feb. 27, 2016
Newport Beach, Calif.----- Carla Toha Vilanova set a San Jose State University women's water polo freshman single-match scoring record with seven goals including the game-winner in the Spartans' 14-13 victory over San Diego State in the consolation bracket of the UC Irvine Invitational.
Toha Vilanova, from Barcelona, Spain, came into the day with 16 goals scored in the team's first 13 games.
"You're a good shooter. You've got to shoot the ball," San Jose State head coach Johnny Bega said to Toha Vilanova after the Spartans lost to #7-Michigan, 13-9, in their morning match.
Toha Vilanova put San Jose State in the win column with a power-play goal with 0:04 remaining in the fourth quarter. It was her fourth power-play goal of the match. Toha Vilanova's seven scores also included converting a third-quarter penalty shot at 0:09 giving the Spartans their first second-half lead, 11-10.
"Our power play was awesome. We were running our power play really well. There were great passes and everyone was a threat," Bega said about the Spartans' power play that was 6-of-9 against San Diego State and 9-of-13 for the first day of the two-day tournament. McKenna Yates, who finished with two goals, and Kelli Leabo also scored power-play goals in the win over the #18-Aztecs.
"I'm proud of the way we bounced back. We rebounded and learned from our mistakes. The loss to Michigan hurt for sure. We came through against San Diego State after being down 9-6 in the third quarter."
Sophomore goalkeeper Tayler Peters was credited with seven saves for the Spartans in the win.
#7-Michigan sent the Spartans to the consolation bracket of the 16-team tournament with its third win of the season over San José State. The Wolverines capitalized on their power play going 3-for-6. Michigan broke a 2-2 first-quarter deadlock with four unanswered second-quarter scores including a pair power-play goals by Allison Skaggs and Caroline Anderson.
Rae Lekness was the Spartans' leading scorer with three against Michigan and had five for the day. Morgan Jones, with a season-high, and Donia Momen had two apiece for San Jose State against Michigan. The Spartans begin second-day action against either UC Santa Barbara or Pacific at 9:15 a.m. and will play a fourth match later in the day.
UC Irvine Invitational women's water polo tournament
Corona del Mar Pool, Newport Beach, Calif.
February 27, 2016
| Match 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #11-San Jose State (8-7) | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 14 |
| #18-San Diego State (4-7) | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
Goal Scoring
San Jose State -- Carla Toha Vilanova, 7; Rae Lekness, McKenna Yates, 2; Kelli Leabo, Donia Momen, Cara Robinson, 1, each.
San Diego State -- Ioll Benekou, 6; Tayla Walsh, 3; Caroline Israels, Makena Magro, Nicole Ferrari, Alyssa Diacono, 1 each.
Goalkeeper Saves
San Jose State -- Tayler Peters, 7.
San Diego State -- Rachel Mitchell, 5.
Exclusions
San Jose State -- 14.
San Diego State, 11.
| Match 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #11-San Jose State (7-7) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| #7-Michigan (11-3) | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 13 |
Goal Scoring
San Jose State -- Rae Lekness, 3; Donia Momen, Morgan Jones, 2, each; Carla Toha Vilanova, Klaudia Paradi, 1, each.
Michigan -- Allison Skaggs, 4; Ali Thomason, Kim Johnson, 3, each; Julia Sellers, 2; Caroline Anderson, 1.
Goalkeeper Saves
San Jose State -- Alicia Magliocco, 6.
Michigan -- Julia Campbell, 6.
Exclusions
San Jose State -- 6.
Michigan, 6.