Feb. 9, 2017
GAME WEEK PREVIEW
San Diego State (0-1, 0-0 MPSF) at Oregon (1-0, 0-0 MPSF)
Feb. 11 | Noon PT | Papé Field | Eugene, Ore.
Live Stats | Watch
Aztec Storylines
* The San Diego State lacrosse team hits the road for the first time this year on Saturday when it travels to the Pacific Northwest to face Oregon in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener for both teams at Papé Field in Eugene, Ore. Game time is set for noon PT, and a video link courtesy of Oregon Live Stream will be available on GoAztecs.com, along with a live stats feed.
* The Aztecs ushered in their 2017 regular-season campaign with a 15-10 home loss to Denver in a non-conference clash on Feb. 4. SDSU fought back from an early 3-0 deficit to tie the game with a three-goal barrage over a span of 1:21 in the first half. However, the Pioneers responded with an 8-1 run through the first two minutes of the second period to build an 11-4 lead they would not relinquish.
* Individually, senior Kristen Hickey led the Aztecs with four goals, while fellow classmates Vickie Porter and Kayla Deitz finished with two scores apiece. Freshman Taylor Sullivan also got into the act for SDSU with her first collegiate goal in the second half. In addition, senior goalkeeper Katrina Reeves made 11 saves in front of the net to go with three ground balls and three caused turnovers.
* Despite the setback, the Aztecs garnered two conference weekly awards. Hickey was named MPSF Offensive Player of the Week, while Sullivan was tabbed Rookie of the week by the league office. One of three team captains, Hickey paced the Scarlet and Black with six shots against DU, including a 2-for-2 effort in free position attempts, while tying Reeves for game-high honors with three ground balls of her own. She also caused two turnovers and recorded one draw control.
* SDSU owns a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series against Oregon, winning a 10-9 thriller last year on The Mesa. Former Aztec Felice Artuso, a second-team all-MPSF pick in 2016, led all players with four goals against the Ducks, adding two assists, two ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers. The two teams found themselves in a 7-7 deadlock at halftime before Hickey and Alex Watson put SDSU in front for good with a pair of goals in the first 11 minutes of the second period. Later in the half, Watson added an insurance goal as the Aztecs withstood a UO strike with 8:52 left in the contest.
* The Aztecs also emerged victorious in their last visit to Eugene, posting an 8-7 overtime triumph in 2015. SDSU trailed 7-4 before notching three straight goals, including a free position conversion by former Aztec Christina Ricciardulli, which knotted the score with 7:28 left in regulation. Ricciardulli tallied the eventual game-winning goal with 43 seconds left in the first overtime period.
* The Aztecs are 5-0 in MPSF openers all-time, including a 17-4 conquest of Saint Mary's on the road last season. SDSU also beat the Gaels in their first two conference lid-lifters in 2012 and 2013, followed by a victory at California in 2014 and the aforementioned overtime win at Oregon in 2015.
* SDSU will be led this season by a nucleus of 10 seniors, including the trio of Kristen Hickey, Vickie Porter and Alex Watson, who combined for 47 goals last season, accounting for 37 percent of the team's offensive production. Hickey enjoyed her finest collegiate season in 2016, finishing second on the squad with 19 goals, 26 ground balls and 17 caused turnovers. The Dedham, Mass., native tallied five games with multiple goals last year, including a five-goal performance in the regular-season finale against No. 12/8 Stanford. A local product from Poway High School, Porter was third on the team last year with 16 goals, while her 19 draw controls ranked second. She registered six multi-point games and scored at least two goals in five outings. Watson, meanwhile, ranked fifth on the squad with 15 points in 2016 after notching 12 goals and three assists. The Davidsonville, Md., native finished with two goals in four different contests, including a pair in the second half of the previously highlighted 10-9 nail-biter over conference rival Oregon.
* The Aztecs also return the experienced goaltending tandem of seniors Katrina Reeves (Granite Bay, Calif.) and Katie Merritt (Danville, Calif.), who will once again protect the cage in 2017. The duo allowed the second-fewest goals in program history (190) last season and combined for a 12.55 goals against average and a .397 save percentage.
* In addition, Reeves was selected as a tri-captain for the 2017 campaign, joining Hickey and fellow classmate Kayla Deitz (Simsbury, Conn.), who will see an expanded role this season after appearing in a career-high 10 games a year ago. In the opener against Denver, Deitz scored two goals on three shots while adding two ground balls and two caused turnovers.
* Other players expected to aid in the Aztecs efforts this season include senior Casey Taggart (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and sophomore Natalie Peel (Mount Laurel, N.J.). Taggert collected 17 ground balls and caused nine turnovers last year, while Peel led all SDSU freshmen in 2016 with five goals, 12 ground balls and seven draw controls.
* San Diego State was picked to finish sixth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in 2017, as the league released its annual preseason coaches' poll on Jan. 24. The Aztecs received 28 points in the balloting, which was completed by the conference's nine head coaches. SDSU landed in the sixth position, eight points behind fifth-place UC Davis (36 pts.) and five points ahead of seventh-place California (23 pts). Reigning MPSF champion and NCAA quarterfinalist USC was predicted to defend its MPSF title from a year ago, garnering 64 points and eight first-place votes, while league finalist and NCAA Tournament participant Stanford was pegged for the runner-up slot after netting 56 points and one first-place vote. Colorado, which took third in the conference race last season, was projected for the same finish in 2017 after earning 51 points, while Oregon wound up fourth in the poll with 38 points.
* However, SDSU has once again inked a talented recruiting class for the 2017 season. Highlighting the newcomers are two high school All-Americans and a pair of all-state performers, nine all-conference selections, three all-section/district honorees, one all-county pick and one player of the year award recipient.
* SDSU will play a program-record 10 home games this year, plus an exhibition contest against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday, Feb. 18. The action-packed schedule includes seven dates at Aztec Lacrosse Field in March alone. During that stretch, the Scarlet and Black will tangle with four consecutive eastern foes on The Mesa, including Boston University (March 5), Saint Joseph's (March 10), New Hampshire (March 15) and Columbia (March 18), followed by a pair of contests against MPSF opponents Saint Mary's (March 24) and California (March 26), while a visit by Brown (March 31) rounds out the busy month.
* The program's only coach after lacrosse became the 19th intercollegiate sport at San Diego State in 2012, Kylee White is now in her sixth season at the helm of the Aztecs. She has transformed SDSU's fledgling program to a strong competitor in the MPSF, highlighted by consecutive conference tournament appearances in 2014 and 2015. In November 2016, White was inducted into the London (Ontario) Sports Hall of Fame after becoming the only women's lacrosse player to represent Canada in each of the last three decades. In 1995, she played on the inaugural U-19 Canadian National Team and later served as an assistant for the squad in 2007. White also played for Team Canada at four IFWLA World Cups (2001, 2005, 2009, 2013), helping the 2013 team to a silver medal. A four-year letterwinner at Ohio State, White was a four-time Buckeye scholar-athlete honoree and an Academic All-Big Ten performer on three occasions. She co-captained the 2002 squad to an 11-5 record and a runner-up finish in the American Lacrosse Conference, helping Ohio State claim its first NCAA berth. White caused 28 turnovers in 2001 and still ranks among the OSU all-time leaders in caused turnovers and ground balls.
Opponent Notebook
Oregon
The Ducks are coming off an 11-8 road victory in their season opener at Michigan on Feb. 4. Sophomore Julia Taylor led UO with her first career hat trick, while fellow classmate Shannon Williams and junior Mariah Gatti finished with two strikes apiece. In addition, senior goalkeeper Becca Katzen was named the MPSF Defensive Player of the Week after earning her first career victory, highlighted by nine saves and a .529 save percentage. The Ducks finished sixth in the MPSF race last season, posting a 9-8 overall record and a 4-5 mark in conference play. As a team, the Ducks led the league in 2016 with 28.41 shots per game and ranked fourth with 11.47 goals per contest. Individually, Cambi Cukar topped the MPSF with 2.71 assists per game (46 overall) as a sophomore last year and ranked fifth with 3.18 points per outing (54 overall.). Head coach Katrina Dowd is in her first season on the Eugene campus after spending four years as an assistant at North Carolina, helping the Tar Heels capture national championships in 2013 and 2016.