March 18, 2017
SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State had its five-game winning streak snapped on Saturday as visiting Columbia claimed a 14-11 decision in a non-conference game at a sun-baked Aztec Lacrosse Field. With the loss, SDSU slips to 5-3 overall while the Lions improve to 5-2 on the season.
The Aztec offense was paced by senior Kristen Hickey, who notched three goals on the afternoon, including a 2-for-4 effort in free position attempts, while fellow classmate Kayla Deitz and sophomore Natalie Peel added two markers apiece.
SDSU was seemingly in control of the contest after building a 6-2 advantage on a goal by senior Vickie Porter with 13:38 remaining in the first half. However, Columbia fashioned a 4-0 run, capped by Victoria Kalamaras' strike with nearly two minutes elapsed in the second period, to tie the score at 6-6.
Shortly thereafter, Hickey scored two goals over a span of two minutes, bookended around a pair of tallies by the Lions' Caroline Joy and Taylor Quinn, which knotted the score for the last time at 8-8 by the 23:56 mark of the second half.
Just over a minute later, Columbia went ahead to stay on a goal by Laine Parsons, while Quinn soon followed with the third of her four markers on the day to put the visitors up 10-8 with 20:37 to go. SDSU managed to trim the deficit on two occasions over the next five-and-a-half minutes, including an 11-10 margin after Deitz found the back of the net with 14 minutes left. However, Columbia responded with three straight goals to put the game out of reach. The Aztecs mustered one last strike when senior Alex Watson connected at the final horn to provide the contest its final score.
In addition to her three goals, Hickey collected three ground balls to tie for team-high honors with Porter and sophomore Harlowe Steele, while sophomore Jill Haight came up with a game-best four draw controls. In front of the cage, the senior goalkeeping tandem of Katie Merritt and Katrina Reeves combined for nine saves.
The two sides were fairly even in the team stats, with the Aztecs maintaining a slight advantage in shots on goal (24-23), ground balls (21-20) and draw controls (14-12).
San Diego State returns to action on Friday, March 24, when it plays host to Saint Mary's in its Mountain Pacific Sports Federation home opener, starting at 7 p.m. PT.