Aztec Lacrosse Storylines
* Second-seeded San Diego State begins its quest for a second straight conference title Friday when it battles No. 3 seed Fresno State in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships at Aggie Stadium in Davis, Calif. Opening draw is set for 5 p.m. PT. If SDSU emerges victorious over the Bulldogs, it will square off against UC Davis in the championship final on Sunday, beginning at 1 p.m. PT.
* SDSU will lock horns with Fresno State for the second straight weekend after posting a dramatic 16-15 victory in its regular-season finale at home on April 20. The Aztecs overcame a 10-4 deficit in the first half, fashioning a 12-3 run over a span of nearly 28 minutes through intermission, before surviving a tying shot attempt in the waning seconds.
* SDSU dominated the center circle in that contest, finishing with a school-record 26 draw controls to help secure its third consecutive winning season. In addition to their supremacy in draw controls (26-7), the Aztecs owned a sizable advantage in shots (47-28), shots on goal (36-24) and ground balls (26-16), while Harlowe Steele and Lexi Tan each recorded hat tricks to lead the offense.
* Superlative performances abounded for the Scarlet and Black against the Bulldogs, as Steele recorded a career-high 10 draw controls, which ranks second on the school's single-game charts, while Jill Haight dished out a personal-best four assists to go with a season-high seven draws of her own. Additionally, Shannon Gallagher matched her collegiate-best with three caused turnovers, while Jenny Buckland collected four ground balls to equal her career-high.
* For the season, Steele leads the Aztecs with 44 goals, which ranks second in the MPSF, while Taylor Sullivan occupies the third spot with 35 tallies of her own. With their totals, Steele and Sullivan give the Scarlet and Black a pair of 35-goal scorers for the second year in a row after Steele (38) and Haight (37) became the first duo in program history to accomplish the feat last season. In addition, Steele's 44 goals rank third on the school's single-season list behind Meris Walsh (47, 2012) and Bailey Ewing (46, 2013).
* With her three-goals vs. Fresno State, Steele has scored at least three goals in 18 different games during her career, including 10 this season. In addition, the SDSU tri-captain has notched at least one tally in 24 of her last 25 starts dating back to last year, with the lone exception in that stretch occurring in the 2018 regular-season finale at Notre Dame.
* Not to be outdone, Steele has also amassed a team-high 51 draw controls this year, surpassing Felice Artuso for second place on the program's all-time list in that category with 143 draws won for her career. With her total, the Aztec midfielder enters the weekend ranked fourth in the MPSF in that statistic, while Bailey Brown (42) occupies the fifth spot, followed by Grace McGinty (40), who is seventh.
* In addition to Steele and Sullivan, the SDSU offense features sports six other double-digit goal scorers in Kirstie Greenlaw (24), Caitlin Jones (21), Lexi Tan (19), Morgan Taylor (19), Bailey Brown (10) and Jill Haight (10).
* At the annual San Diego State student-athlete banquet on April 15, Harlowe Steele was named female student-athlete of the year for her excellence in athletics, academics, community service and leadership. In addition, Kay Kay Greskovich received the Malik Award for the fall semester, presented to student-athletes who achieve the highest GPA (4.0).
* After defeating Fresno State at home on April 20, the Aztecs swept the final MPSF weekly honors of the year, as Harlowe Steele received recognition on offense, Marissa MacRae garnered defensive accolades, while Caitlin Jones was named top rookie. With her award, Steele's weekly conference selection marks the eighth of her career and seventh as an offensive player, while MacRae picked up her first certificate as a collegian. In addition, Jones merited rookie distinction for the second week in a row and fifth time this year. In all, SDSU has collected 14 MPSF weekly awards for the season, the most in the conference.
* Not to be outdone, SDSU tied a program record with seven players on the all-MPSF team released April 24, which also represents the most in the league. Kirstie Greenlaw, Jill Haight, Harlowe Steele, Katy Sharretts and Marissa MacRae garnered their second straight all-MPSF accolades, while Jenny Buckland and Taylor Sullivan collected their first career all-conference certificates.
* As of April 23, SDSU finds itself among the Division I leaders in shots on goal (12th, 25.69/gm), ground balls (15th, 21.19/gm) and total shots (16th, 33.94/gm). Entering the weekend, the Aztecs also rank 27th in draw controls with 14.44 per contest.
* Individually, Steele occupies the 17th spot nationally with 1.13 free position goals per game (18 overall), while Sullivan ranks 32nd in that category (0.87, 13 overall). Elsewhere, Sharretts tops the MPSF with a team-leading 39 ground balls (2.44/gm). She also enters the weekend ranked 14th nationally with 157 saves for the season and is 20th with an average of 9.81 saves per game.
* Last month, Sullivan tied a school record with seven ground balls at Ohio State, which marks the top performance in the MPSF this year. She also netted her sixth hat trick of the year in that contest against the Buckeyes after recording just one last season. After causing a turnover at Arizona State, Sullivan moved into fifth place on the Aztecs' all-time list with 46 caused turnovers for her career and is just two short of surpassing Kristen Hickey (2014-17) for fourth in that category.
* Additionally, Marissa MacRae caused a career-high four turnovers vs. Central Michigan on March 5, tying three UC Davis players for the best mark in the league so far this year in that statistic.
* Heading into Friday's clash, SDSU boasts an 8-1 record against Fresno State and has won three straight in the series, including a 16-6 victory in the semifinals of the MPSF Championships last year at Aztec Lacrosse Field. SDSU scored the first six goals of that contest, eventually building leads of 11-1 by intermission and 16-1 in the second half to take complete control. In addition, the Aztec defense limited Sarah Bloise, the MPSF's leading scorer entering the game, to just one goal on five shots for the entire evening. Individually, Harlowe Steele led the Scarlet and Black with a hat trick, while Grace McGinty and Paige Hudak tallied two markers apiece.
* San Diego State is 3-0 in neutral-site games this year, defeating Oregon (13-8) and California (13-9) during a season-opening trip to Las Vegas, Feb. 15 and 17 , before knocking off Columbia by a 16-7 count the following week on Feb. 24 in Tempe, Ariz. The Aztecs are undefeated this year when leading at any point during a game (9-0) and sport an unblemished 8-0 mark when outshooting their opponents. In addition, the Scarlet and Black is 6-0 when scoring the first goal and is 6-2 in games following a victory.
* Taylor Sullivan's five-goal effort vs. USC on Feb. 22 marked the sixth time an Aztec player has recorded at least five tallies over the past two seasons and the second time this year after Kirstie Greenlaw accomplished the feat vs. Cal on Feb. 17. In the quarterfinals of the 2017 MPSF tournament, Ijeoma Ikpe tied a program record with seven goals vs. Oregon, while Alex Watson had five at Michigan earlier that year. Last season, Harlowe Steele put up five scores vs. Arizona State, while Grace McGinty duplicated the total at Furman. With the exception of the USC clash, San Diego State emerged as the winner in the other five outings.
* Through 16 games, Caitlin Jones leads the stellar San Diego State rookie class with 21 goals, 19 draw controls and 12 ground balls, while Courtney Robinson has racked up six tallies, three ground balls and three caused turnovers. In addition, Arielle Shahrabani has six goals to her credit, along with 10 draw controls, eight ground balls and a trio of caused turnovers.
* The program's only coach after lacrosse became the 19th intercollegiate sport at San Diego State in 2012, Kylee White begins her eighth 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 11 victories and the squad's first-ever MPSF championship 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.
Opponent Notebook
Fresno State
After falling to the Aztecs last Saturday, the Bulldogs (7-6, 0-2 MPSF) enter the MPSF Championships as the No. 3 seed for the second straight season. Fresno State has been led by freshman Sydney Skalstad, who was named the league's Rookie of the Year after finishing the regular campaign with a team-high 31 goals, which is tied for fourth in the conference. The Bulldogs boast four additional 20-goal scorers, including all-MPSF selections Tiffiny Wallace (28) and Kayla Galet (28), followed by Ryleigh Bone (25) and Marina Mayo (20). Defenders Abbigayle Roberts (27 gb) and Olivia Mannon (23 gb) also landed on the all-conference team, as well as goalkeeper Laurel Maunder, who occupies the second spot nationally with 12.92 saves per game and ranks eighth with 168 saves overall to go with a league-best .499 save percentage. As a team, Fresno State is averaging 13.38 goals per game, but is yielding 14.38 on the other end of the field.
UC Davis
The Aggies (9-7, 2-0 MPSF), who have won two straight and seven of 10, earned a bye in the MPSF semifinal with a 16-12 triumph over San Diego State on April 13. For the season, UCD has been paced by Taylor Cuenin, who picked up her second straight MPSF Player of the Year award after compiling a league-leading 47 goals to go with 26 ground balls and 17 caused turnovers. Cuenin, who has 10 hat tricks to her credit this season has received plenty of help from another all-conference selection in Amanda Outcalt, who tops the MPSF with 67 points on 31 goals and a league-best 36 assists. In addition, Kate Graham (77 dc), Anna Belenis (31 gb) and Ally Deremer (20 gb, 10 ct) earned all-conference recognition, while Suzanne Isidor received her second straight MPSF Coach of the Year honor. Elsewhere, Mar Alvear (67 dc) and Maddie Myers (65 dc) have been dominant in the center circle as well, while goalkeeper Taylor Mathieson has started the last six games, maintaining a .489 save percentage and a 10.89 goals against average for the season. As a team, the Aggies lead the MPSF with 15.88 draw controls per game, which ranks 14th in the nation. Entering the weekend, UCD is averaging 12.31 goals per game, but is allowing 13.00 per outing.
Lacrosse Set for Rematch vs. Fresno State
