Feb. 26, 2015
SAN DIEGO -
Game Week Reset
San Diego State (0-2) at Oregon (2-0)
Saturday, Feb. 28 | Noon PT | Papé Field | Eugene, Ore.
Aztec Story Lines
- The San Diego State women's lacrosse team begins Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) play on Saturday, Feb. 28, as the Aztecs hit the road to face Oregon, beginning at noon PT. The game will be streamed live on Pac-12 Networks and live stats will be available on GoAztecs.com.
- The Aztecs (0-2) are an experienced group in 2015, with a roster featuring nine seniors, four redshirt juniors and a total of 13 players who started at least five games in 2014. San Diego State was picked to finish sixth in the MPSF, one year after finishing sixth and earning its first-ever postseason berth in the MPSF Tournament quarterfinals. SDSU set several new program records along the way, including most conference victories (4), most road victories (4) and most conference player of the week honors (6).
- San Diego State is coming off a pair of road losses in the state of Florida last weekend, as the Aztecs fell to No. 4-ranked Florida, 17-7, and came up short in its contest against two-time defending Atlantic Sun champion Jacksonville, 18-11. Senior midfielder Christina Ricciardulli (Poway, Calif.) led the way with three goals against Florida, while sophomore midfielder Vickie Porter (Poway, Calif.) added two goals with two groundballs, senior midfielder Grace Korandovich (Columbus, Ohio) finished with a team-high three draw controls and senior attack Michaela Jarvis (Annapolis, Md.) recorded three assists.
- The Aztecs had a two-goal lead against Jacksonville in the first half on Sunday, until an 8-0 run by the Dolphins put them ahead for good in the second half. Sophomore transfer Alex Watson (Davidsonville, Md./La Salle) scored all three of her goals in the first half to give SDSU an early advantage, while senior attack Lauren Maack (Coronado, Calif.) also scored three goals with an assist, two groundballs and two draw controls. In addition, Jarvis finished with two goals, three groundballs and two caused turnovers, while Korandovich had two assists and junior midfielder Alexa Comfort (Manahawkin, N.J.) recorded a goal with two assists.
- SDSU is looking to even its all-time record against Oregon at two wins apiece. The Aztecs earned their second-ever MPSF road victory when they defeated the Ducks, 12-10, in their only visit to Eugene, Ore., on March 22, 2013. Ricciardulli recorded three goals with a game-high six draw controls in that contest, while Jarvis posted four assists and Korandovich scooped up three groundballs. In 2014, SDSU fell short in a home matchup against the Ducks, 13-6, which was the Oregon program's 100th all-time victory.
- Ricciardulli, Jarvis and senior defender Lauren Paul (Grasonville, Md.) were each all-MPSF second-team selections in 2014. Ricciardulli led the team in draw controls (54) and caused turnovers (20), while finishing second on the team in goals (28) and third in points (32). Jarvis had team-highs in both points (39) and assists (20), while Paul ranked second on the team in caused turnovers (17) and third in groundballs (27).
- Through two games this season, San Diego State sophomore goalkeeper Katrina Reeves (Granite Bay, Calif.) leads the MPSF in groundballs per game (4), ranks tied for third in saves per game (8.5) and is sixth in save percentage (.327). Reeves was a standout for the Spanish National Team during January's Budapest New Years Cup, where she led the team to a second-place finish and earned team MVP honors.
- As a team, SDSU is currently second in the MPSF in assists per game (5.5) and groundballs per game (22.5), while the Aztecs are third in draw controls (11.5) and caused turnovers (7.5) per game, fourth in points per game (14.5) and fifth in goals per game (9).
- San Diego State finished the 2014 regular season ranked 29th in the nation and fourth in MPSF in scoring offense, averaging 12.13 goals per game, while it tied for 22nd in the country and third in the MPSF with 13.25 draw controls per game. In addition, the Aztecs were 42nd in the country with 247 total points, and were 40th in the nation with 8.63 caused turnovers per game.
- Dating back to last season, the Aztecs have won six-consecutive games when leading at halftime and have won five of their last seven games in the month of February. In 2014, SDSU was 7-3 when scoring 10 or more goals, 5-0 when scoring at least 15 goals and 4-2 when leading at any point in a game.
Opponent Notebook
Oregon
The Ducks recently had a week off, but are off to a 2-0 start this season after road victories at Presbyterian, 18-1, and at defending Big South Conference champion High Point, 9-8. Following the wins, junior midfielder Carly O'Connell was named MPSF Offensive Player of the Week after recording a total of four goals, two assists, five groundballs, three caused turnovers and 11 draw controls. Oregon returns seven players from its 2014 starting lineup, including all-MPSF selections O'Connell and junior defender Ali Scharkey. The Ducks were picked to finish fourth in the MPSF Coaches Poll, after finishing 11-8 overall and 6-3 in conference play last season en route to advancing to the MPSF Tournament semifinals, where they fell to eventual champion Denver. Oregon is coached by Jen Beck, who in her 11th season at the helm, is the Ducks' only coach in program history. She currently has a 103-81 career record and a 36-26 mark in MPSF play. Prior to Oregon, Beck was an assistant coach for three seasons at North Carolina, where the Tar Heels won an ACC championship and advanced to the 2002 NCAA Final Four. She was a two-sport athlete at Virginia, playing both lacrosse and field hockey, as the Cavaliers won the 1993 National Championship and were the National Runner-Up in 1996.