STANFORD, Calif. – San Diego State's lacrosse team opened the 2020 regular season on a sour note when it fell to No. 20 Stanford by a 15-7 count on Maloney Field inside Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
Captain and senior Taylor Sullivan led the Aztecs' scoring charge with three goals while collecting two ground balls and five shots. SDSU also received goals from senior Morgan Taylor, junior Julia Sheehan, sophomore Arielle Shahrabani and freshman Camdyn O'Donnell. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Katy Sharretts recorded seven ground balls and 13 saves. Fellow senior Gabbie Garrison recorded a career-best four ground balls and two caused turnovers. Sophomore Cailin Young matched a career-high four draw controls while junior Bailey Brown added two ground balls and two draw controls.
The Aztecs (0-1) held a 23-25 advantage in turnovers and matched the Cardinal in free-position shots, but were outshot by Stanford 41-24, including a 28-16 spread on goal.
Stanford (1-2) earned its first win of the season led by a hat trick from Mikaela Watson. Recent Tewaaraton watch-list nominee Ali Baiocco alongside Jacie Lemos and Galen Lew added two ticks to the board apiece for the Cardinal. Genesis Lucero led the charge for Stanford in draw controls (seven) while Daniella McMahon recorded an impressive stat line of five ground balls, two caused turnovers and two draw controls.
The Aztecs fell to an early 2-0 deficit as the Cardinal scored two goals within 20 seconds of each other to open the game. Senior captain Morgan Taylor kicked off scoring for SDSU with an unassisted goal with 28:10 left in the first half. After the Cardinal tacked on two more points, senior Julia Sheehan took advantage of a man-up free position shot to bring the Scarlet and Black back within two. Senior Taylor Sullivan followed her lead just two minutes later, finding the back of the goal with a strong assist from redshirt junior Lexi Tan and sending the score to 4-3 Stanford.
Freshman Camdyn O'Donnell earned her first goal in her first collegiate lacrosse match, clipping the Cardinal's following three-goal streak and bringing the Aztecs within three goals, 7-4. Sullivan closed off the first-half scoring with a man-up goal with just 42 seconds left to play, shutting off a three-goal run by the Cardinal and sending the Aztecs into halftime with the game at 10-5.
Stanford opened the second half with three goals to boost their lead to 13-5. Sullivan and Shahrabani answered with marks of their own, bringing the score to 13-7. The Aztecs were silenced for the last ten minutes of play on the Farm.
UP NEXT
SDSU hosts their first regular-season matchup at home on Thursday, Feb. 20 when it faces Arizona State at Aztec Lacrosse Field, starting at 1 p.m. PT.