Game Week Preview
San Diego State (8-4, 0-0 MPSF) at No. 18 Stanford (8-4, 4-3 Pac-12)
Thursday, April 4 | 4 p.m. PT | Laird Q. Cagan Stadium | Stanford, Calif.
Aztec Storylines
* San Diego State will encounter its second straight ranked opponent on Thursday, April 4, when it travels north to battle No. 18 Stanford, starting at 4 p.m. PT. In addition to live stats, a link to streaming video will be available on GoAztecs.com.
* The Aztecs will be looking to put the brakes on a three-game losing skid after dropping a 19-8 decision to 10th-ranked and defending national champion James Madison on March 30 in Harrisonburg, Va.
* SDSU was unable to overcome a slow start in that contest, as the Dukes raced to an 11-0 advantage in the first 11:40 of action before taking a 13-3 lead by intermission. However, the Aztecs played much better in the second half, limiting the host school to just six goals while maintaining a 6-5 edge in draw controls.
* Harlowe Steele led the Aztecs with three points on two goals and one assist against JMU, while Julia Sheehan and Taylor Sullivan put up two markers each. In addition, Steele tied Grace McGinty for game-high honors with three draw controls, while goalkeeper Katy Sharretts made seven saves and scooped up four ground balls.
* Not to be outdone, Elizabeth Adams set a personal-best with three caused turnovers and collected two ground balls to garner Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Defensive Player of the Week accolades.
* With her award, Adams gives SDSU eight conference weekly honorees this season. Sharretts collected two certificates on defense (Feb. 18 and March 11); Steele merited offensive recognition on two occasions (March 11 and March 25), while Caitlin Jones was twice named top rookie (Feb. 25 and March 11). In addition, Sullivan received defensive distinction from the league on March 18.
* Entering the week, Sullivan leads the Aztecs with 32 goals for the season (2.67/gm), which ranks second in the MPSF, followed closely by Steele, who occupies third spot in the controls with 30 tallies of her own (2.50/gm). At their current clip, Sullivan and Steele would easily give SDSU two 40-goal scorers in the same year for the first time in program history.
* The balanced San Diego State offense features five additional double-digit goal scorers in Kirstie Greenlaw (18), Caitlin Jones (17), Morgan Taylor (16), Lexi Tan (11) and Bailey Brown (10).
* This season, Steele has climbed into fourth place on the Aztecs' career list with 77 goals, eclipsing Vickie Porter (2014-17) and Michaela Jarvis (2012-14), who finished with 70 tallies apiece in a Scarlet and Black uniform. In addition, Sullivan has tied former goalkeeper Katrina Reeves (2014-17) for fifth place on SDSU's all-time charts with 45 caused turnovers for her career. Elsewhere, Sharretts now ranks second in program history with 281 career saves, trailing only Reeves, who finished with 405 stops.
* 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 against the Buckeyes after recording just one last season.
* 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.
* After her four-goal performance at Cincinnati on March 22, Steele has scored at least three goals in 14 different games during her career, including six this season. In addition, the Aztec tri-captain has notched at least one tally in 21 of her last 22 starts dating back to last year, with the lone exception in that stretch occurring in the 2018 regular-season finale at Notre Dame.
* Steele has also racked up a team-high 36 draw controls this year, surpassing Grace Korandovich for fourth place on the program's all-time list in that category with 128 draws won for her career, trailing fellow senior Jill Haight , whoranks third on the Aztecs' all-time charts with 129 draw controls, including 18 this season.
* Sullivan's five-goal effort vs. USC on Feb. 22 marked the sixth time an SDSU 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, Steele put up five scores vs. Arizona State, while Grace McGinty duplicated the total at Furman. With the exception of the USC clash, the Aztecs emerged as the winner in the other five outings.
* As of April 2, SDSU finds itself among the Division I leaders in shots per game (9th, 34.50), shots on goal per game (10th, 26.08), and ground balls (17th, 21.17/gm). The Aztecs rank 24th in both scoring offense (14.08) and draw controls (14.50/gm).
* Individually, Steele occupies the 11th spot nationally with 1.25 free position goals per game (15 overall), while Sullivan is 18th in that category (1.08, 13 overall), ranking first and second in the MPSF, respectively. In addition, Sharretts is 19th in the country with 105 saves on the year, while Taylor enters the week at No. 19 as well in free position percentage (.636, 7-11).
* Despite finishing with single-digit goals for the first time this season at JMU, San Diego State still ranks 24th nationally entering the week with 14.08 goals per game. The Aztecs have racked up 169 goals on the year, which marks the third-best 12-game stretch to start a season in program history, trailing only the 2018 and 2013 squads, which put up 179 and 178 tallies, respectively, during the same span. Collectively, SDSU is still on pace to surpass last year's school record of 256 goals.
* Stanford marks the fourth of five Pac-12 opponents the Aztecs will play during the 2019 campaign. SDSU defeated Oregon 13-8 and California 13-9 on a neutral field during its season-opening trip to Las Vegas, Nev., before falling to then-No.24 USC at home 20-16 on Feb. 22. SDSU will travel to Arizona State on Wednesday, April 17, but will not meet Colorado, the only other Pac-12 school to sponsor women's lacrosse.
* The Aztecs last faced the Cardinal in 2017 dropping a 19-8 decision in the Bay Area during Stanford's final season in the MPSF. In that contest, SDSU trailed just 7-4 with 11 minutes remaining in the second half; however, the Cardinal scored seven straight goals through the halftime break to put the game out of reach. Steele and Haight led the Aztecs with three draw controls apiece.
* Despite last Saturday's defeat at JMU, March has still proven to be a very fruitful month for the Aztecs over the past three years, with the Scarlet and Black posting a 17-7 record during that span, including a 15-2 mark at home. Since 2017, SDSU is 18-7 overall at Aztec Lacrosse Field.
* The Aztecs once again signed a talented recruiting class for the 2019 season. Highlighting the group are four high school All-Americans, three all-CIF performers, seven all-conference selections, two all-county picks and five Player of the Year/Most Valuable Player award recipients. In addition, the class includes multiple players with a plethora of prep postseason and national tournament experience, while many have displayed their versatile talents in other sports as well.
* After 12 games, Caitlin Jones leads the stellar San Diego State rookie class with 17 goals, 11 draw controls and 10 ground balls, while Arielle Shahrabani has racked up six tallies, three ground balls and three caused turnovers. In addition, Courtney Robinson has four goals to her credit, along with eight draw controls, seven ground balls and a trio of caused turnovers.
* After a successful run at Aztec Lacrosse Field last season, the 2019 MPSF Championships will be contested on April 26 and 28 at Aggie Stadium in Davis, Calif. For the second year in a row, 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 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.
Up Next
* Following Thursday's clash, San Diego State returns to northern California on Saturday, April 13, when it squares off against MPSF adversary UC Davis, starting at 1 p.m. PT.
Opponent Notebook
Stanford
Despite falling to conference rival and then-No. 16 USC at home, 11-10, in overtime on Sunday, the Cardinal (8-4, 4-3 Pac-12) climbed two places to No. 18 in the latest IWLCA Division I poll. Stanford faced one other MPSF squad this year, posting a 19-10 victory at home over UC Davis on Feb. 24. Individually, the Cardinal have been led by sophomore Ali Baiocco, whose 49 points on a team-high 33 goals and 16 assists rank second in the Pac-12 conference and 26th nationally. In addition, senior Julia Massaro tops the squad with 64 draw controls and 28 ground balls, while junior Daniella McMahon has displayed her versatility with 23 goals, 12 assists, 23 ground balls and a team-high 14 caused turnovers. Sophomore goalkeeper Trudie Grattan ranks second in the Pac-12 and 14th nationally with a .498 save percentage and has recorded a 9.73 goals against average to go with 8.67 saves per game in her 12 starts. As a team, Stanford leads the Pac-12 with 14.67 draw controls per game, which ranks 21st in the country, while their 22.42 ground balls per outing is second in the conference and 11th nationally. In addition, the Cardinal occupy the second spot in the league in both scoring offense (13.58) and scoring defense (9.92). Head coach Amy Bokker is in her 11th season at Stanford, where she has guided the program to six conference titles and seven NCAA tournament appearances.
Lacrosse to Face No. 18 Stanford
