MPSF Championship Preview
[2] San Diego State (10-7) at [1] UC Davis (9-7)
Sunday, April 28 | 1 p.m. PT | Aggie Stadium | Davis, Calif.
Aztec Lacrosse Storylines
* For the second straight season, the San Diego State lacrosse team will battle UC Davis for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship, when the two sides square off in the title game Sunday at Aggie Stadium in Davis, Calif. Opening draw is set for 1 p.m. PT.
* In addition to live stats, a link to a subscription video stream can be found on GoAztecs.com.
* The second-seeded Aztecs (10-7) advanced to the championship final with an 18-12 victory over No. 3 seed Fresno State in the semifinal contest on Friday night.
* Seniors Harlowe Steele and Kirstie Greenlaw tied their career highs with five goals apiece against the Bulldogs, while Lexi Tan contributed a personal-best four markers of her own. In addition, sophomore Bailey Brown got into the act with six draw controls for the third game in a row, while senior Jill Haight handed out a pair of assists.
* With her offensive output, Steele became San Diego State's single-season leader with 49 goals on the year and is just four tallies shy of finishing as the second 100-goal scorer in school history behind Meris Walsh, who logged 105 from 2012-14.
* In addition, Steele leads the Aztecs in several other statistical categories, including points (59), draw controls (53), shots (97), shots on goal (74) and free position goals (19). She is also tied for second with 31 ground balls and ranks third with 10 assists.
* A native of Coquitlam, British Columbia, Steele headlines SDSU's league-leading list of seven all-MPSF honorees this season, joining fellow classmates Greenlaw, Haight and Jenny Buckland, along with redshirt junior Katy Sharretts and juniors Marissa MacRae and Taylor Sullivan.
* With her five goals vs. Fresno State on Friday, Steele has scored at least three goals in 19 different games during her career, including 11 this season. In addition, the Aztec tri-captain has notched at least one tally in 25 of her last 26 starts dating back to last year, with the lone exception in that stretch occurring in the 2018 regular-season finale at Notre Dame.
* Sharretts, meanwhile, eclipsed her own single-season record with 173 saves this year after making 16 against Fresno State, which marked her seventh game of the campaign with double-digit stops. In addition, the SDSU goalkeeper has collected a conference-leading 42 ground balls, which ranks second on the school's single-season list behind her predecessor in the net Katrina Reeves, who had 58 in 2017.
* Besides Steele, the Aztec offense features sports seven other double-digit goal scorers in Sullivan (35), Greenlaw (29), Tan (23), freshman Caitlin Jones (22), junior Morgan Taylor (20), Brown (11) and Haight (10).
* Additionally, Jones leads the stellar San Diego State rookie class with 21 draw controls and 12 ground balls, while fellow classmate Courtney Robinson has totaled six goals, 11 draw controls, nine ground balls and three caused turnovers. Another freshman Arielle Shahrabani also has six goals to her credit, along with three ground balls and a trio of caused turnovers.
* 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).
* Heading into Sunday's showdown, the Aztecs are 4-5 against UC Davis all-time after dropping a 16-12 decision at Aggie Stadium on April 13. Steele and Tan finished with hat tricks, while Taylor and Greenlaw added two goals apiece. Not to be outdone, Sharretts set a school record with 18 saves.
* SDSU fought back from deficits of 4-1 and 7-5 to tie the score on two occasions in the first half. However, the Aggies never allowed the visitors to gain the upper hand, utilizing a 5-0 run during a 10-minute stretch in the second period to keep the Aztecs at bay.
* Sunday's clash also marks the second year in row the teams will meet in the MPSF championship final after San Diego State came away with a thrilling 11-10 victory in overtime last season at Aztec Lacrosse Field. Taylor, who scored the golden goal with 11 seconds elapsed in the extra session, was named the tournament MVP after the contest.
* Along with Taylor's heroics, SDSU received two goals apiece from Greenlaw and Sullivan, while Haight (1 goal) posted a team-high seven draw controls and four ground balls. The Aztec fortunes were also buoyed by Steele (1 goal), who collected three ground balls and three caused turnovers, with the latter matching a personal-best.
* Not to be outdone, reserve goalkeeper Amanda Stapp made two clutch saves in the last 4:09 of regulation, including a stop with 11 seconds to go, after replacing an injured Sharretts earlier in the second half.
* SDSU is undefeated this year when leading at any point during a game (10-0) and sports an unblemished 9-0 mark when outshooting its opponents. In addition, the Scarlet and Black is 6-0 when scoring the first goal and is 7-2 in games following a victory.
Opponent Notebook
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 their 16-12 triumph over SDSU 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 MPSF Final at UC Davis Today
