SAN DIEGO – San Diego State had a furious rally fall short in its home opener on Friday against No. 24 USC, as the Women of Troy held on for a 20-16 victory at Aztec Lacrosse Field.
Despite standout performances by numerous players, SDSU (2-1) was unable to complete the comeback after trailing 16-6 late in the first half.
The Aztecs were led by Taylor Sullivan, who tied her career-high with five goals; Caitlin Jones added a personal-best four strikes of her own, while Morgan Taylor and Bailey Brown tallied two scores each in the loss.
In addition, goalkeeper Katy Sharretts established a program-record with 17 saves, including 10 in the first half, while Jill Haight and Harlowe finished with similar stat totals, racking up three points apiece on one goal and two assists to go with four draw controls each.
However, the Aztecs ultimately ran out of time, as the Women of Troy scored two goals in the final five minutes to keep the host school at bay.
Staring down the barrel of a 16-6 deficit, SDSU got on the board with 25 seconds left in the first half when Jones converted a free-position shot, while Steele assisted on goals by Sullivan and Lexi Tan in the first five minutes of the second half to jump-start the Aztec offense. Moments later, Taylor found the back of the net on another eight-meter attempt, which pulled the Scarlet and Black to within 16-10 by the 24:55 mark.
USC (2-0) responded with a pair of free position goals by Emily Concialdi and Kelsey Huff nearly three minutes apart to up their advantage to 18-10.
Unfazed, the Aztecs erupted for five straight tallies, as Brown, Steele, Jones and Taylor each hit pay dirt from the free position over a span of six minutes, while Haight threaded a perfect pass into Sullivan, who rifled a shot past Women of Troy goalie Riley Hertford to narrow the gap to 18-15 with 6:02 remaining.
Scoreless since the 20:09 mark, USC stole SDSU's momentum just under a minute later when Huff scored from the free position to put the visitors in front 19-15.
Sullivan tightened the score once again on an eight-meter conversion by Sullivan with just under four minutes left, but could draw no closer, as Huff notched an unassisted goal with 1:26 to account for the final outcome.
Despite trailing in draw controls 20-18, SDSU won nine of 14 encounters in the second half to help fuel their comeback efforts. In addition, the Aztecs clamped down defensively after the break, limiting USC to 14 fewer shots in the second period (32-18).
Collectively, San Diego State cashed in on 11 of 14 free position opportunities, the Women of Troy finished with a 6-for-13 clip.
Concialdi and Huff scored five goals each to pace the USC offense, while Kerrigan Miller (2 goals) finished with a game-high seven draw controls and six ground balls.
SDSU's 16 goals were the most ever in seven all-time meetings vs. the Women of Troy, while Sharretts' 17 saves eclipsed Sammy Slattery's previous school record of 16 set in 2013 vs. Temple and Stanford.
QUOTABLE
"I was very proud of how we fought back in the second half," said Aztec head coach Kylee White. "You can't let a good team like USC get a 10-goal lead, and we've had our struggles in the first half this year. I have to look at how I can get our players to start out with more fire. But we came back in the second half and that was exciting. We're a good team, too. We have to build on what we did well in the second half, especially our re-defend. We had some freshmen step up, play without fear and just compete out there. That was great to watch. Having Caitlin (Jones) score four goals in only her third game was amazing, and Taylor (Sullivan) was everywhere on the field. Katy (Sharretts) was the leader of our defense and Marissa (MacRae) and Jenny (Buckland) were spitfires, too."
UP NEXT
San Diego State returns to action on Sunday, Feb. 24, when it travels to Tempe, Ariz., for a neutral-site game with Ivy League member Columbia. Opening draw is set for 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT.
Lacrosse Falls Short vs, No. 24 USC, 20-16
