March 28, 2015
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The San Diego State women's lacrosse team had its program-record seven-game winning streak snapped on Saturday evening, as the Aztecs fell on the road to Yale, 12-6, on a cold, snowy night at Reese Stadium.
Each of SDSU's three losses this season have come on the road, and its six goals scored on Saturday were a season low after entering the week ranked eighth in the nation in scoring offense. The Aztecs (7-3, 4-0 MPSF) fell behind early on, 3-0, and a 7-0 run by Yale to end the first half and open the second half gave the Bulldogs a 10-2 lead with 12:52 remaining.
"It's probably the worst lacrosse we've played this year," head coach Kylee White said. "We didn't play our game and didn't show up to win. It's frustrating, but hopefully it's not a trend."
Junior midfielder Alexa Comfort led San Diego State with two late goals, while senior attack Michaela Jarvis finished with one goal and one assist. Senior midfielder Christina Ricciardulli had a goal, three draw controls and three groundballs, senior defender Lauren Paul added four groundballs with a caused turnover and senior defender Catherine Shepardson racked up two caused turnovers and two groundballs.
The Aztecs lost the battle in nearly every statistical category, including draw controls (12-8) and shots attempted (24-17). SDSU began the week ranked fifth in the country in draw controls per game (15.33), and leading the conference with 30 shots per game.
Although White acknowledged Yale is strong defensively, she and the coaching staff are unsure why the team didn't play to its potential.
"Yale's defense is pretty good, and maybe it rattled us a little bit," White said. "We didn't take many shots in the first half and we got out-worked. We didn't make smart decisions and committed uncharacteristic turnovers. I'm sure the weather played a small role because it was on our girls' mind all day, but as coaches, we're disappointed."
San Diego State fought back after its slow start behind sophomore Vickie Porter's free-position goal followed by a score by junior Sophie Koubek off an assist from senior Lauren Maack to pull within 3-2. But that's when Yale went on its 7-0 run that didn't end until Ricciardulli's unassisted goal made it 10-3 with 12:39 left to play.
The Aztecs look to get back to their winning ways on Tuesday, March 31, when they continue their East Coast trip against Brown, beginning at 4 p.m. ET.