Feb. 19, 2017
Davis, Calif.----- For the fourth time this season, San Jose State University finished a weekend of women's water polo play splitting a pair of matches.
In the 37th annual Aggie Shootout, the #16-ranked Spartans (4-8) lost to #11-Pacific (5-4), 9-6, and defeated unranked Occidental, 20-3.
San Jose State was unable to survive a rough second quarter against Pacific allowing four goals, two of them on power plays, without scoring. The Spartans trailed 5-1 at halftime.
"We came out with passion, had a lot of opportunities the first three minutes of the game and we couldn't convert those (shots). If you don't convert, you're going to get hunted down. UOP converted every time we made a mistake. They scored a goal or got an ejection out of it," said San Jose State head coach Gabor Sarusi.
"In the first half, we were slow. We didn't put away the opportunities we had. They ended up taking advantage of their opportunities. That put us on our heels," said Sierra Painter who scored twice in the fourth quarter to cut Pacific's lead to 7-5 and 8-6.
"... We came back, fought hard and never gave up. We have to have that mentality, power and strength from the first whistle. It was too slow a start. We tried to bounce back, but it wasn't good enough this time."
"Our second half definitely was better for us. Our defense was what it is supposed to be. We played better team defense," added the San Jose State head coach.
Goalkeeper Katelynn Thompson had a season-high 13 saves against Pacific.
In its final match of the day, Occidental scored first before San Jose State ran off 18 consecutive scores over the next 24 minutes for its most lopsided win of the season.
Sheila Jensen led the Spartans with a single-match career-high five goals. Freshman Kathryn Elgin chipped in with four. Bailey Sprague, with two in the second quarter ,and Jennifer Liu, with one, scored for he first time wearing a San Jose State cap.
Goalkeepers Tayler Peters, Shannon Spence and Jessica Harris combined for four saves in the win.
"I liked that everyone had a lot of playing time. We're nearly halfway through the season and our schedule will get harder. This was a good opportunity to see who we will be able to use down the line in our league games and in our conference championship," said Sarusi.
San Jose State returns to action, Friday, February 24, in the 16-team Barbara Kalbus Invitational hosted by UC Irvine. The Spartans' first match is against California. The Golden Bears already have two nine-goal wins over the Spartans this season.
San Jose State University women's water polo
37th annual Aggie Shootout
Scahaal Aquatics Complex, Davis, Calif.
February 19, 2017
| Match #9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Occidental (0-5) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| #16-San Jose State (4-8) | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 20 |
Goal scoring
Occidental -- Carly Zurcher, 2; Hi'poi Lee, 1.
San Jose State -- Sheila Jensen, 5; Kathryn Elgin, 4; Cara Robinson, Giuliana Tragitt, Bailey Sprague, 2, each; McKenna Yates, Donia Momen, Jordan Milich-Miskini, Jennifer Liu, Klaudia Paradi, 1, each.
Goalkeeper saves
Occidental -- Anna DeGroot, 8.
San Jose State -- Tayler Peters (Two quarters), 2; Shannon Spence (One quarter), 0; Jessica Harris, 2.
Ejections
Occidental -- 7.
San Jose State -- 7.
| Match #7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #16-San Jose State (3-8) | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| #11-Pacific (5-4) | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
Goal scoring
San Jose State -- McKenna Yates, Sierra Painter, 2, each; Jordan Milich-Misikini, Jacqui Maisey, 1, each.
Pacific -- Karolina Hlvata, 3; Rachel Krieger, 2; Victoria Szmodics, Kyra Christmas, Viktoria Tamas, Brinney Barthels, 1, each.
Goalkeeper Saves
San Jose State -- Katelynn Thompson, 13.
Pacific -- Alexis Hollinrake -- 10.
Ejections
San Jose State --8.
Pacific -- 3.