Feb. 16, 2012
SAN DIEGO -
SEASON PREVIEW | HEAD COACH Kylee White
The San Diego State lacrosse team will play host to its first-ever home games this weekend, beginning Friday with Cincinnati at 7 p.m. PT at Aztec Lacrosse Field. SDSU (0-1) also will play UC Davis at 1 p.m. PT Sunday in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game.
The first 500 fans in attendance to Friday's game will receive a free T-shirt, commemorating the inaugural season of Aztec lacrosse. Admission is free to all home matches this season.
San Diego State is coming off a 19-4 loss to No. 18/20 Ohio State last Saturday (Feb. 11) in Palo Alto, Calif. The Buckeyes (2-0) went on to defeat host No. 6/17 Stanford, 14-10, on Sunday.
Lauren Maack (Coronado, Calif./Coronado HS) scored two of the Aztecs' two goals, while Jackie Mills (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS) and Meris Walsh (Easton, Md./Maryland) chipped in with a goal apiece. Maack and Walsh also paced SDSU with five shots apiece. Sammy Slattery (Carlsbad, Calif./Palomar College) played all 60 minutes in net and made nine saves.
Friday's game will be the first of the season for the Bearcats. Last season, Cincinnati was 2-13 and 0-7 in the competitive BIG EAST Conference. The Bearcats return their all-time leading scorer Laura Simanski, who has 125 points on 115 goals and 10 assists. Last season, Simanski had a team-best 22 goals, including a team-high 11 free position scores. Cincinnati also returns its top point scorer from last year in Katie Kiriazoglou, who had 34 points on 16 goals and 18 assists. Jennifer Walsh returns in net for the Bearcats, a year after starting all 15 games and posting a 15.74 goals against average.
Like Cincinnati, the Aggies kick off their 2012 season this weekend in San Diego. Last year, UCD went 10-5 overall, including a 2-4 mark in MPSF play. UC Davis, which was picked to finish fifth in the MPSF preseason poll (San Diego State was picked seventh), should be led by Vanessa Jamison, who earned second-team all-league honors a year ago. Jamison had 15 goals and 15 points in 2011, while the trio of Hanna Mirza, Elizabeth Datino and Anna Geissbuhler combined for 90 goals and 43 assists. The Aggies also return goalkeeper Jordan Majka, who started 13 of the team's 15 games in 2011.
Friday's home game will be the first of seven straight for the Aztecs from Feb. 17-March 20. Included in the schedule are MPSF games at home against UC Davis (Feb. 19), California (March 10), Oregon (March 18) and Fresno State (March 20), and road league contests at Denver (April 9), Saint Mary's (April 13) and Stanford (April 15).
Upcoming Schedule for Aztec Lacrosse (admission is free to all home games)
Friday, Feb. 17 -- Cincinnati -- Aztec Lacrosse Field -- 7 p.m. PT
Sunday, Feb. 19 -- UC Davis -- Aztec Lacrosse Field -- 1 p.m. PT
Friday, March 2 -- Saint Mary's -- Aztec Lacrosse Field -- 7 p.m. PT