Jan. 23, 2011

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- LMU women's water polo earned a sweep of a pair of ranked teams in the final day of the 2011 Michigan Kick-off Tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Sunday. The Lions defeated No. 12 Indiana 15-6 and then No. 7 San Jose State 13-11 to improve to 4-1 after the long five-game road swing to start the season.

"We had a big letdown against top-ranked Stanford on Saturday, but we recovered nicely today," said Head Coach Kyle Witt. "We held our tempo much better today and as you want to do each time you play, we got better as a team. It is early and we have a long way to go, but after five games I have to say we are on the right path."

Mary Ann Campos finished the five games with 11 goals, including a pair against Indiana and three against San Jose State. Kristine Cato had 23 saves in the two games on Sunday.

In the first game of the day, the Lions jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead on a 6-on-5 goal from Campos and a pair of two-meter goals from senior Diana Romero less than three minutes into the contest. The Matadors cut the lead to one goal before Benedetti capped the first quarter scoring on an entry pass from Flacks with 2:47 to play.

Goals from Casey Flacks (who had seven goals on the weekend), Romero, Erin Manke and Daisy Carrillo pushed the lead to 8-2 with 3:41 left in the period. CSUN would add a goal late the half to send it to the lockerroom at 8-3.

The teams would trade a pair of goals each to start the second half before the Matadors cut the lead to 10-6 with 55 seconds left in the third. The Lions would then put the game away with two goals in the final 33 seconds - the first by Campos and then another by Manke at the buzzer.

They would close the game with three more goals to finish the game scoring the last five of the game. Hana Gosney, Alexandra Honny, and Morgan Bonk closed the scoring in the fourth as the defense posted a shutout in the final quarter.

In game two, the Lions jumped out to a 4-2 lead after the first quarter and duplicated in the second for an 8-4 lead at the break.

Romero then scored the first goal of the second half, converting from four meters on a 6-on-5 attack to make it 9-4. A minute later Romero fed Kimberly Benedetti for a goal at two meters for a 10-4 lead. After a Spartan goal, Campos made it an 11-5 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

San Jose then tallied six goals in the fourth quarter while the Lions scored two to make it closer.

This was the earliest start to the season for the Lions in program history as they have already tallied five games before February. They will now have two weeks off before heading the Triton Invitational hosted by UC San Diego Feb. 12-13.

Game 12 1   2   3   4   FCal State Northridge    2   1   3   0   6Loyola Marymount    4   4   4   3   15CSUN Goals: Whitney Delgado 2, Chelsea Curran 2, Melissa Doll, Heidi Pettinger.LMU Goals: Diana Romero 3, Mary Ann Campos 2, Hana Gosney 2, Erin Manke 2, Alexandra Honny 2,
Kimberly Benedetti, Daisy Carrillo, Casey Flacks, Morgan Bonk.Saves: CSUN 8 (Nicole Concialdi), LMU 10 (Kristine Cato)Ejections: CSUN 11, LMU 11
Game 16  1   2   3   4   FSan Jose State  2   2   1   6   11Loyola Marymount    4   4   3   2   13SJSU Goals: Ally Waasted 3, Timi Molnar 3, Dani Curran 2, Adriana Vogt,Alyssa Friesen, Allie Stewart, Alisa Argend.LMU Goals: Casey Flacks 3, Mary Ann Campos 3, Hana Gosney, Alexandra Honny,Jessica Morelos, Kimberly Benedetti.Saves: SJSU 8 (Meagan Minson), LMU 13 (Kristine Cato)Ejections: SJSU 8, LMU 10