April 29, 2014
SAN DIEGO -
Game Week Reset
No. 6 San Diego State (7-9, 4-5 MPSF) vs. No. 3 Colorado (10-7, 6-3 MPSF)
MPSF Quarterfinal | Thursday, May 1 | 4 p.m. MT | Peter Barton Stadium | Denver, Colo.
Aztec Story Lines
- The San Diego State women's lacrosse team will play its first-ever Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships game on Thursday, May 1 when it takes on first-year program and No. 3-seed Colorado in the quarterfinals beginning at 4 p.m. MT at Peter Barton Stadium in Denver, Colo. Thursday's winner will face No. 2-seed Denver in the semifinals on Friday at 4 p.m. MT.
- SDSU (7-9, 4-5 MPSF) finished sixth in the MPSF standings after defeating Fresno State, 17-4, in its regular-season finale on April 23 for head coach Kylee White's 20th victory. The Aztecs played Colorado to a sudden-death overtime period in their first-ever meeting on April 13, as San Diego State fell short on the road to the Buffaloes, 7-6.
- The Aztecs received contributions from several different players in last week's win over Fresno State, as junior Grace Korandovich (Columbus, Ohio) scored a game-high three goals, each of which coming in the game's first 12 minutes. Seniors Meris Walsh (Easton, Md.) and Isabelle Pickett (Adelaide, Australia) recorded two goals apiece, while sophomore Felice Artuso (Westminster, Md.) had two goals with five draw controls and freshman Vickie Porter (Poway, Calif.) finished with two goals, two groundballs and two caused turnovers.
- Walsh leads SDSU with 32 goals this season, while junior attack Michaela Jarvis (Annapolis, Md.) is the Aztecs' leader in points with 38 on 19 goals and a team-high 19 assists. Junior midfielder Christina Ricciardulli (Poway, Calif.) has been San Diego State's defensive standout throughout this season, as she leads the team with 52 draw controls and 20 caused turnovers, and is tied for tops among Aztec position players with 26 groundballs. In addition, Ricciardulli is second on the squad with 25 goals and third with 29 points.
- With the 2014 regular season officially over, Jarvis finished sixth in the MPSF in assists per game (1.19), while Walsh is tied for 10th in goals per game (2) and Ricciardulli ranks fifth in the conference in draw controls per game (3.25).
- Junior defender Lauren Paul (Grasonville, Md.) is second on the team with 15 caused turnovers and her 26 groundballs is tied with Ricciardulli and Artuso for most among SDSU position players, while Korandovich is second behind Ricciardulli with 30 draw controls. Also, freshman goalkeeper Katrina Reeves (Granite Bay, Calif.) has racked up 91 saves this season with a goals-against average of 12.16, while fellow freshman goalkeeper Katie Merritt (Danville, Calif.) earned the start in the victory over Fresno State and finished with seven saves.
- San Diego State finished its third season in program history ranked 29th in the nation and fourth in the conference in scoring offense, averaging 12.13 goals per game, while its also tied for 22nd in the country and third in the MPSF with 13.25 draw controls per game. In addition, the Aztecs are 42nd in the country with 247 total points, and are 40th with 8.63 caused turnovers per game.
- The Aztecs ended the regular season with a 6-1 record when leading at halftime, compared to an 0-7 mark when trailing at intermission and a 1-1 record when tied. Another key stat for the Aztecs is they are 6-2 when outshooting opponents this season, but 1-7 when they've been outshot. They're also 4-2 in games following a victory, and when they have the edge in either draw controls or groundballs.
- SDSU is 7-3 when it scores at least 10 goals, and is a perfect 5-0 when scoring 15 or more goals. Thursday will be the Aztecs' first game this season on a Thursday, as well as on a neutral site, and first contest in program history in the month of May. San Diego State is 1-1 in overtime games this season, with its lone loss coming at Colorado on April 13. The Aztecs are 3-0 in night games this season starting after 5 p.m., but are 4-9 in day games.
Opponent Notebook
Colorado
The Buffaloes completed their first season in program history by finishing with a 10-7 overall record and 6-3 mark in MPSF play, clinching the No. 3 seed in the MPSF Championships with their overtime road victory over Oregon, 10-9, on Sunday. The game was tied five times and each team held a three-goal lead at one point, as Colorado played its third overtime game in its last five contests, this one ending with Sarah Lautman's game-winning goal with 37 seconds remaining. Freshman Johnna Fusco leads the Buffaloes with 54 points on 40 goals and 14 assists this season, and was named MPSF Rookie of the Week on Monday, while freshman Cali Castagnola is second with 44 points on 37 goals and seven assists and freshman Katie Macleay has a team-best 17 assists. In addition, freshman goalkeeper Paige Soenksen leads the MPSF in saves per game (10.35), and is second in the conference in save percentage (.522), while freshman Marie Moore is second in groundballs per game (2.41) and fourth in draws per game (3.59). CU is coached by Ann Elliott, who was an assistant coach at Northwestern from 2009-11 before being promoted to associate head coach in 2012. She also won three national championships as a player for the Wildcats from 2005-07, and was an Inside Lacrosse third-team All-American as a senior.