Feb. 28, 2016
WEEKLY RELEASE
Game Week Preview
Michigan (3-2, 0-0 B1G) at San Diego State (1-2, 0-0 MPSF)
Tuesday, March 1 | 7 p.m. PT | Aztec Lacrosse Field | San Diego, Calif.
Coverage via live stats on GoAztecs.com
Storylines
- Coming off of its first win of the season, the San Diego State lacrosse team welcomes Michigan to Aztec Lacrosse Field for the Aztecs' 2016 home debut on Tues., March 1. The contest, which will feature live stats available on GoAztecs.com, is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
- At Saint Joseph's in Philadelphia, the Aztecs took their first lead of the game with 24:46 to go in the first half and did not trail after that en route to the Scarlet and Black's first win of the year. The team used a career performance by New Jersey native Alexa Comfort and an aggressive attack to leave the Eastern Seaboard with a 15-13 victory.
- Competing just 65 miles from her hometown of Manahawkin, N.J., Comfort had a career game for SDSU at Saint Joseph's. The senior scored six goals, converting on two of her three free position attempts, and took eight shots. Comfort leads the team with eight tallies on the year.
- The goaltending tandem of Katie Merritt and Katrina Reeves continued to shine for the Aztecs in Philadelphia. The duo combined to make nine saves, propelling the pair to a .443 save percentage early in the season.
- Early in the season, Kristen Hickey has been a bright spot of the Aztecs' offensive force. The junior midfielder has scored four goals and dished out a trio of assists. Her four tallied surpasses her output from last season, and the three assists are a career-high mark.
- The Scarlet and Black opened their season in North Carolina, starting 2016 with a 0-2 mark after losses to Elon and No. 2/2 North Carolina. In the season opener, three Aztecs posted multi-point games as SDSU led the Phoenix 5-3 midway through the first half. But Elon went on an 8-2 run to win the game 11-7. Against the No. 2/2 Tar Heels, San Diego State held UNC to just a pair of goals in the final fourth of the game, but it was too little, too late as the Aztecs fell, 20-7.
- San Diego State was picked to finish fifth of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's (MPSF) 10 teams in 2016, the conference office announced in its annual coaches' poll. The Aztecs' fifth place selection is the highest in program history after SDSU recorded 46 points in the poll. Reigning MPSF champion No. 15 Stanford was selected to repeat in its title quest.
- SDSU returns upperclassmen Felice Artuso, Alexa Comfort and Vickie Porter, who combined to net over 23 percent of the team's total offense in 2015. Last season, Artuso netted 14 goals and four assists in 16 games started. The senior from Westminster, Md. has scored at least 14 goals each season in the Scarlet and Black. Comfort ranked third on the team with 25 points (20 goals, five assists), netting multiple goals six times. Porter, who tied for third with 20 goals, took 42 shots, also the team's third most.
- The Aztecs were represented on the international stage this offseason, thanks to Katrina Reeves. The junior from Granite Bay, Calif. played every minute for Spain at the 2015 ELF Women's Lacrosse European Championship, earning a nod to the All-European Team after playing every minute of the tournament, leading all goalies at the 17-team event with 85 saves.
- Head coach Kylee White introduced one of her most decorated incoming classes to date, which features three high school All-Americans, four all-conference or all-league selections, three all-county and all-section or all-group honorees and a pair of all-state players and player of the year selections. The class of 2015 features some of the country's finest athletes, with competitors hailing from one of the most prestigious lacrosse conferences, the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland (IAAM), New Jersey, Georgia, San Diego, Orange County, Northern California, British Columbia and Colorado.
- The team will look to thrive in one of the Aztecs' toughest regular season schedules to date, which features four reigning NCAA Tournament participants, including National Champion runner-up and preseason No. 2 North Carolina, and seven contests on Aztec Lacrosse Field.
- San Diego State will be led by a trio of captains in Anna Cholewczynski, Andrea Killebrew and Jacqueline Leibrandt. Cholewczynski, a two-time MPSF All-Academic honoree (2014 and 2015), played in 13 contests for the Aztecs last season, picking up three ground balls and causing a turnover. Killebrew started 12-of-15 contests in 2015, scoring six goals and adding nine assists. Leibrandt played in two contests during her redshirt-sophomore season last year, scooping up three ground balls and caused a pair of turnovers.
- Last season was arguably the finest in the program's young history. The Aztecs won a program-best nine games and produced a school record seven game winning streak, which included a 4-0 start to MPSF play. Also a school record, nine student-athletes garnered MPSF All-Academic accolades and two captured All-MPSF first team honors (Lauren Paul, Christina Ricciardulli). Additionally, Paul was SDSU's first representative at the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) North-South All-Star Game after setting the program's record with 24 caused turnovers.
- Kylee White is in her fifth season at the helm of San Diego State's lacrosse program. The program's only coach after lacrosse became the 19th collegiate sport at SDSU in 2012, she has guided the program to a spot as a top contender in the MPSF, with back-to-back MPSF Tournament appearances highlighting her most recent seasons.
Opponent Notebook
Michigan's (3-2) season is off to a promising start, with the Wolverines' only two losses coming in one-goal setbacks at No. 7 Florida and against Oregon. The team is led offensively by Kim Coughlan, who has recorded 16 points on 14 goals and two assists. She is also Michigan's draw control specialist, with a team-high 17 on the year. Freshman Mira Shane has started all but one contest in the cage, recording an 8.21 goals against average with a .483 save percentage in just under 227 minutes of action. Jennifer Ulehla joins Kylee White as the first head coach of a program, leading Michigan in the program's third year.