March 26, 2018
Game Week Preview
San Diego State (8-3 0-0 MPSF) at Delaware (4-5, 0-0 CAA)
Tuesday, March 27 | 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT | Newark, Del.
Live Stats | Watch
San Diego State (8-3 0-0 MPSF) at Mount St. Mary's (4-4, 0-0 NEC)
Friday, March 30 | Noon ET/9 a.m. PT | Emmitsburg, Md.
Live Stats | Watch
Aztec Storylines
- San Diego State hits the road for a pair of games in the Eastern time zone this week when it squares off against Delaware on Tuesday, March 27, starting at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT before battling Mount St. Mary's on Friday, March 30, beginning at noon ET/9a.m. PT. In addition to live stats, both matchups will include a link to streaming video on GoAztecs.com.
- SDSU persevered with a narrow 11-10 home victory over Liberty in its last outing on March 23. The Aztecs were led by Harlowe Steele's three-goal performance, while sophomores Taylor Sullivan and Morgan Taylor finished with two strikes apiece. In addition, junior Jill Haight registered three points on a goal and two assists, while goalkeeper Katy Sharretts tied her career-best with 14 saves, helping the Scarlet and Black match the 2015 and 2017 squads for the best 11-game start in program history at 8-3.
-SDSU's win also merited Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors for Steele and Sharretts. Steele, who contributed a game-high five draw controls as well against the Lady Flames, garnered Offensive Player of the Week accolades from the conference office, while Sharretts was bestowed the same distinction on defense. With their awards, the Aztecs have received MPSF weekly recognition on 13 occasions already this season. Earlier in the year, Steele earned offensive honors in back-to-back weeks (Feb. 12 and Feb. 19), while Sharretts collected her first certificate on defense in the same month (Feb. 26).
- Entering the week, Haight leads SDSU with 24 goals, which ranks 76th nationally, while her team-best 4.73 draw controls per game (52 overall) is good for 53rd in the country. In addition, the Milton, Ga., product tops the squad with 30 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 production, the Aztecs have received 21 tallies from junior Grace McGinty, including a team-high 12 on free position attempts for an average of 1.09 per game, which ranks 32nd in the nation.
- Not to be outdone, Steele also has 21 goals to her credit, followed by Kirstie Greenlaw (18), Sullivan (13), Taylor (13), Natalie Peel (12) and Elizabeth Rourke (10). One of the team's two seniors, Rourke is enjoying a tremendous season, logging a team-high 11 assists and 19 ground balls.
- Despite the graduation of goalkeeping standouts Katrina Reeves and Katie Merritt, the Aztec netminder responsibilities rest firmly in the capable hands of Sharretts, who leads the MPSF with 98 saves, which ranks seventh in the country. The SDSU redshirt sophomore owns a .460 save percentage and a 12.06 goals against average thus far.
- Bailey Brown, meanwhile, has topped the Aztecs' talented freshman class with eight goals, 30 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 seventh spot nationally in draw controls (16.45/gm) and free position (.551, 49-89) , while their scoring offense (15.36 goals/gm) and scoring margin (4.55) rank 11th and 14th, respectively . In addition, San Diego State is 23rd in the country with 24.18 shots on goal per contest and ranks 27th with 32.00 shots per outing.
- The Aztecs are 8-0 this season when leading at the half and 7-0 when scoring first. In addition, SDSU is 8-1 on the year when posting more draw controls than the opposition, having won six straight. The Aztecs are also 5-0 this season when collecting more ground balls and 5-0 when scoring over 15 goals.
- The week's games will mark San Diego State's first meetings in program history against both Delaware and Mount St. Mary's. Tuesday's clash with the Blue Hens represents the Aztecs' third encounter with a Colonial Athletic Association opponent after falling short on the road to James Madison (20-7) in 2014 and Elon (11-7) in 2016.
- A victory over Delaware would give the Scarlet and Black its best 12-game start to a season in school history. The two previous times the Aztecs posted an 8-3 record, they lost the 12th game, dropping a 17-10 contest to Denver in 2015 and a 17-12 decison at Fresno State last year.
- Meanwhile, Friday's showdown vs. the Mountaineers will be SDSU's fourth against a Northeast Conference adversary after beating LIU Brooklyn in consecutive years (2013-14) by a combined margin of 43-7, following a 16-15 overtime loss at Saint Francis in 2012.
- With its 11-10 victory over Liberty, SDSU has won six straight games decided by one goal dating back to last season and has improved to 13-10 in one-goal encounters since the team's inception in 2012.
- 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 this week's action, San Diego State will play host to Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rival UC Davis on Sunday, April 8, starting at noon PT as part of Senior Day festivities at Aztec Lacrosse Field.
Opponent Notebook
Delaware
The Blue Hens (4-5, 0-0 CAA) snapped a two-game losing streak with an 18-11 triumph over Bryant University on Sunday in Smithfield, R.I. Senior Becky Gohsler matched her career-high with six goals on the day, while sophomores Sarah Bedard and Claire D'Antonio finished with four strikes apiece. For the season, Bedard leads the team with 18 goals, while sophomore Sydney Rausa (17), fellow classmate Christine Long (16), Gohsler (16) and D'Antonio (14) have also produced double-digit scoring totals. Delaware has also received a boost from sophomore Mia DeRuggerio, who has dished out 23 of the team's 39 assists this year, while junior Chantae Simms tops the squad with 24 ground balls. Simms was a prep teammate of Aztec goalkeeper Katy Sharretts at the John Carroll School in Bel Air, Md. In addition, to her goal production, Gohsler has contributed a team-high 40 draw controls and 21 caused turnovers. Senior Taylor Carpentier has received the lion's share of goalkeeper minutes this year, posting 92 saves, a .469 save percentage and a 13.00 goals against average. The Blue Hens are 0-3 against ranked teams this year, falling to No. 12 Penn (12-5), No. 1 Stony Brook (20-8) and No. 18 Virginia Tech (17-10). Head coach Kateri Linville is in her eighth season at the helm of her alma mater after spending five years as an assistant coach at Notre Dame. As a collegiate player, Linville won three letters at midfield for Delaware, serving as co-captain during her senior season in 2003.
Mount St. Mary's
The Mountaineers (4-4, 0-0 NEC) have been idle since March 17 after dropping a 10-7 decision to George Washington on the road. Mount Saint Mary's and SDSU have played one common opponent this season, with the Mountaineers posting a 16-0 shutout at Presbyterian on Feb. 28. In addition, Mount Saint Mary's has faced one other Mountain Pacific Sports Federation member this year, edging Fresno State 11-10 at home on March 12. Individually, the Mountaineers are led by sophomore Carly Miller, who has compiled 24 points on 15 goals and nine assists, while junior Taylor Carhart has 15 tallies of her own. Mount St. Mary's has also received a sizable contribution from freshman Beanie Colson (13 goals), who has won a team-high 24 draws, while junior Emily Davis (13 goals) leads all field players with 16 ground balls and tops the squad with 12 caused turnovers. Junior Marley Heller (10 goals) has also reached double figures in scoring this season to go with nine ground balls and seven caused turnovers. Junior Jillian Petito has played full time this year, recording 84 saves, a .556 save percentage and an 8.15 goals against average. The Mountaineers are under the direction of fourth-year head coach Lauren Schwarzmann, who served as an assistant coach at SDSU during the program's inaugural season in 2012. Following her stint on The Mesa, Schwarzmann, who played collegiately at Johns Hopkins, spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Stanford before landing her present position at Mount Saint Mary's.