April 8, 2016
DENVER -
The San Diego State women's lacrosse team was unable to overcome an early three-goal deficit at the hands of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) foe Denver, falling to the Pioneers, 15-6, on Friday at Denver's Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
SDSU falls to 3-3 in MPSF play, moving to 4-8 overall. Denver is now 2-3 against conference opponents, and has a 5-7 overall mark.
The Aztecs were able to shut out the Pioneers for the first 8:11 of the game before Denver scored three goals in 1:38 for the early 3-0 lead.
At the 16-minute mark, San Diego State went on the man-up and Alex Watson was able to take advantage, putting SDSU on the board for the 3-1 goal.
The Pioneers were able to take regain a three-goal lead with 14:14 remaining in the frame before Mackenzie Lech's second goal of the season limited the Denver advantage for a 4-2 score.
But the Pioneers went on a 4-1 run to the close the first half for an 8-3 lead at the intermission.
Just over a minute into the second frame, Denver was able to extend its lead to six goals, but Katie Gill's seventh of the season cut the lead to 9-4.
After the Pioneers' 10th of the game, Andrea Killebrew and Natalie Peel netted goals midway through the period for the 10-6 score.
However, Denver would close the game by scoring five unanswered goals for the final 15-6 score.
Watson led the team offensively, scoring a pair of goals and notching an assist. She also took four shots, tied for the team high with Killebrew. Felice Artuso dished out a pair of assists and was one of three Aztecs to cause two turnovers, along with Lauren Gierke and Watson.
San Diego State was out-shot by Denver, 29-14, while scooping up more ground balls, 28-20. Draw controls were 13-9 in the Pioneers' favor.
Katie Merritt (2-7) suffered the loss, making five saves in the first half. Katrina Reeves turned away two second-half shots.
San Diego State resumes play in the Centennial State on Sun., April 10 with a noon (MT) match at Colorado.