March 22, 2018
Game Week Preview
Liberty (6-2, 0-0 Big South) at San Diego State (7-3 0-0 MPSF)
Friday, March 23 | 7 p.m. PT | Aztec Lacrosse Field
Live Stats | Watch | Game Notes
Aztec Storylines
- Winners of two straight and five of its last six, San Diego State looks to keep the momentum in high gear this week when it plays host to Liberty on Friday, March 23, at Aztec Lacrosse Field. Admission is free, with the first 250 fans in attendance receiving a free Aztec Lacrosse T-shirt. In addition to live stats, a link to streaming video will also be available on GoAztecs.com.
- SDSU is coming off a successful road trip to South Carolina last weekend after posting an 18-7 triumph over Furman on March 16, followed by a 23-4 conquest of Wofford two days later. With the victories, the Aztecs have matched the best 10-game start in program history at 7-3, set in 2015 and 2017.
- Junior Grace McGinty combined for eight goals and 10 draw controls on the week to earn Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Offensive Player of the Week honors. In addition, freshman Jensen Coop totaled three points (2 goals, 1 assist), four draw controls and one ground ball to garner conference Rookie of the Week accolades. With the awards, SDSU has collected 11 MPSF weekly certificates already this season.
- Against Furman, the Aztecs employed a 5-0 surge midway the first half to break a 3-3 tie and take the lead for good. After building a 10-4 bulge by intermission, the Scarlet and Black was never threatened in the second period, outscoring the Paladins 8-3 to hand the host school its fifth straight loss.
- SDSU maintained the statistical advantage over Furman in most categories, including shots (36-26), shots on goal (29-15), draw controls (19-7) and ground balls (21-16). Individually, McGinty and sophomore Taylor Sullivan recorded career-highs with five goals apiece, while junior Jill Haight and freshman Bailey Brown netted two each. Not to be outdone, McGinty corralled five draw controls, while Haight and fellow classmate Harlowe Steele won four each.
- Against Wofford, the Aztecs set a single-game school record for most goals scored, eclipsing the previous high of 22 set earlier this month vs. Presbyterian (22-2) and against LIU Brooklyn (22-6) on March 10, 2014. SDSU tallied the first nine goals vs. the Terriers last Sunday and never looked back. In all, 14 different players found the back of the net for the Scarlet and Black, including McGinty, Steele and junior Kirstie Greenlaw, who each recorded a hat trick, while junior Paige Hudak dished out a personal-high four assists.
- Collectively, the Aztecs controlled the stat sheet once again vs. Wofford, leading in shots (35-21), shots on goal (28-10) and draw controls (18-11) while holding a slight edge in ground balls (17-16).
- Entering the weekend, Haight leads SDSU with 23 goals, which ranks 52nd nationally, while her team-best 4.90 draw controls per game (49 overall) is good for 44th in the country. In addition, the Milton, Ga., native tops the squad with 27 points and 11 caused turnovers.
- SDSU has benefited from a balanced offense during the 2018 campaign, with eight players notching 10 or more goals. In addition to Haight's output, the Aztecs have received 20 tallies from McGinty, including a team-high 12 on free position shots for an average of 1.20 per game, which ranks 21st in the nation.
- Steele, meanwhile, has 18 goals to her credit, followed by Greenlaw (17), junior Natalie Peel (12), Sullivan (11), sophomore Morgan Taylor (11) and Elizabeth Rourke (10). One of the team's two seniors, Rourke is enjoying a tremendous season, logging a team-high 11 assists and 17 ground balls.
- Despite the graduation of standouts Katrina Reeves and Katie Merritt, the Aztec goalkeeping duties now rest in the capable hands of Katy Sharretts, who leads the MPSF with 84 saves, which ranks 13th in the country. The SDSU redshirt sophomore owns a .444 save percentage and a 12.30 goals against average thus far.
- Brown, meanwhile, has topped the Aztecs' talented freshman class with seven goals, 27 draw controls and 10 ground balls. The Katy, Texas, native was named MPSF Defensive Player of the Week on March 12 after receiving back-to-back conference Rookie of the Week accolades on Feb. 19 and Feb. 26.
- As a team, the Aztecs occupy the sixth spot nationally in both scoring offense (15.80 goals/gm) and draw controls (16.80/gm), while their scoring margin (4.90) and free position percentage (.537 (44-82)) rank ninth. In addition, San Diego State is 18th in the country with 24.90 shots on goal per contest and ranks 23rd with just 14.90 turnovers per outing.
- The Aztecs are 7-0 this season when leading at the half and 6-0 when scoring first. In addition, SDSU is 7-1 on the year when posting more draw controls than the opposition, having won five straight. The Aztecs are also 5-0 this season when collecting more ground balls and 5-0 when scoring over 15 goals.
- San Diego State has played Liberty on one previous occasion, emerging with an 18-12 triumph at Aztec Lacrosse Field on March 13, 2015. Elizabeth Rourke is the lone holdover from that squad, posting one ground ball and one caused turnover, as the Scarlet and Black outscored the Lady Flames 11-6 in the second half to pull away.
- SDSU is 5-0 against current members of the Big South Conference, including a 22-2 rout of Presbyterian on The Mesa earlier this month. In addition, the Aztecs captured both games of a home-away series vs. Winthrop (2014, 2015) to go with a victory over Campbell (2015) in a neutral-site affair at Fresno, Calif., as well as the aforementioned win over Liberty.
- With its dramatic 14-13 victory over Arizona State on Feb. 17, SDSU has won five straight games decided by one goal dating back to last season and has improved to 12-10 in one-goal encounters since the team's inception in 2012. It also marked just the second time in program history that the Aztecs have recorded consecutive one-goal wins after downing Saint Joseph's (13-12) and New Hampshire (12-11) last year. Last month, the Scarlet and Black emerged triumphant with another 12-11 nail-biter in its season opener at California on Feb. 11.
- For the first time in program history, SDSU will play host to the MPSF Championships, slated for April 27 and 29. With the Pac-12 Conference sponsoring the sport of lacrosse for this time this season, five teams (Cal, Colorado, Oregon, Stanford, USC) have withdrawn from the MPSF, leaving behind the Aztecs, Fresno State and UC Davis. As a result, the MPSF tournament format will pit the second and third seeds in the semifinal game, with the winner advancing to the championship final against the No. 1 seed.
- The program's only coach after lacrosse became the 19th intercollegiate sport at San Diego State in 2012, Kylee White begins her seventh season at the helm of the Aztecs. She has transformed SDSU's fledgling program to a strong competitor on the West Coast, highlighted by a school-record 10 victories last year. 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 pick 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 also added assistant coach Nikki Boltja to her staff in the offseason. A former star player at Louisville, Boltja spent the last two seasons as an assistant at Stetson University (2017) and Baldwin Wallace University (2016). While at Louisville, Boltja merited IWLCA All-America distinction on two occasions for the Cardinals, earning third-team honors in 2013, before receiving first-team recognition in 2014. A three-time all-region and all-conference selection, Boltja was the unanimous Big East Offensive Player of the Year during her senior campaign in 2014 after leading Louisville to its first NCAA Tournament berth and top 10 national ranking.
Up Next
- Following Friday's tilt, San Diego State returns to the Eastern time zone to battle Delaware on Tuesday, March 27, before locking horns with Mount St. Mary's on Friday, March 30. Both games will offer links to live stats and streaming video on GoAztecs.com.
Opponent Notebook
Liberty
The Lady Flames (6-2, 0-0 Big South) are off to their best start in program history after posting a 15-5 victory at Arizona State in their last outing on Tuesday. Against the Sun Devils, junior Brianna McCaffery scored all of her season-high four goals in the second half, while sophomore Jenna Joyal added a hat trick of her own, helping Liberty improve to 4-2 on the road this year. The Lady Flames have played just two home games thus far, defeating Robert Morris 14-9 on Feb. 25, followed by a 17-8 triumph over Butler on March 13. Individually, Liberty sports five double-digit goal scorers in McCaffrey (17), Joyal (15), sophomore Carly White (13), senior Michaela Rich (12) and sophomore Hannah Quast (12). In addition, junior Kayla Foster leads the Lady Flames with 24 points on nine goals and 15 assists to go with a team-best 36 draw controls, while McCaffrey tops the squad with 24 ground balls and 19 caused turnovers. McCaffrey's average of 2.38 caused turnovers per game ranks 12th in the country, while Foster's 15 assists are good for 31st nationally. Juniors Katherine Widrick and Aubrie Tarris have split time at goalkeeper for Liberty, logging 240 minutes apiece so far this season. Widrick (41 saves) owns a .562 save percentage and an 8.00 goals against average, compared to Tarris (36 saves) whose line includes a .429 save percentage and a 12.00 goals against average. As a team, the Lady Flames lead the nation with 13.50 caused turnovers per game and rank 10th with 22.88 ground balls per contest. Head coach Kelly Nangle is in her fifth season at Liberty after spending two years at Central Connecticut State, where she was named Northeast Conference Coach of the Year in 2012.