March 8, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
Game Week Preview
Furman (3-3, 0-0 A-Sun) at San Diego State (1-3, 0-0 MPSF)
Thursday, March 10 | 12 p.m. PT | Aztec Lacrosse Field | San Diego, Calif.
Coverage via live stats, live video on GoAztecs.com
Storylines
- The San Diego State lacrosse team hosts its second of three home games when it welcomes Furman to Aztec Lacrosse Field on Thurs., March 10. The midday matchup, which begins at noon, has live stats and a free live video stream available on GoAztecs.com.
- To start the season, Kristen Hickey has been a bright spot of the Aztecs' offensive force. The junior midfielder has scored seven goals and dished out a trio of assists. Against Michigan, she netted a career-high three goals and has multi-goal games in three of her four starts this season to lead SDSU with 10 points.
- Alexa Comfort's career performance just 65 miles from her hometown of Manahawkin, N.J. earned the senior SDSU's first MPSF Player of the Week nod of the year. She was recognized as the conference's Offensive Player of the Week on Feb. 29 after she 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 has protected the Aztecs cage well this season. Starter Katie Merritt ranks third among MPSF goaltenders with a .453 save percentage and fourth with 7.25 saves per game, while Katrina Reeves' 9.50 goals against average puts her fifth in the conference. Their 11.50 saves per game tops the league, and the combined .460 save percentage is second-best in the MPSF.
- The Aztecs' freshmen have been strong contributors to open the season. Jill Haight has appeared in all of SDSU's games, her five ground balls putting her third on the team, and recording two goals and an assist. Natalie Peel, who also has four appearances, sits fourth with a trio of markers, while her four draws rank second.
- 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 Alexa Comfort and an aggressive attack to leave the Eastern Seaboard with a 15-13 victory.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- 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
Furman
After opening the season with a pair of road losses at Vanderbilt and Winthrop, the Paladins responded with dominating wins against Gardner-Webb, St. Francis and UC Davis in Fresno, Calif. However, Fresno State's defense held Furman to just four goals on March 7, a 7-4 loss on the road. Devon Horine leads Furman with 14 points on 13 goals and an assist to rank second in the Atlantic Sun, thanks to her league best five free position goals. She is also the team's draw control specialist with 17, which is first in the A-Sun. Courtney Baker and Maggie Friel have split duties starting in the cage, with Friel yielding a conference-best 8.43 goals against average. Rachel Shuck Whitten leads Furman in the program's second season of existence.