SAN DIEGO – The SDSU lacrosse team (3-4) hosts Drexel (4-4), who is receiving votes in the latest IWLCA poll, Wednesday evening at 5 p.m. on the Aztec Lacrosse Field.
Aztec Tidbits
• SDSU is in the midst of four straight home games. The Aztecs began the season with five consecutive road games and will be on the road for five in a row again after Sunday's home tilt with Denver.
• Wednesday's 5 p.m. game against Drexel is SDSU's lone night home game of the year and just their second of the year.
• The Aztecs split their last two home games, falling 27-18 to No. 10 Princeton on March 12 and then beating Marquette 18-12 on March 15.
• SDSU has scored exactly 18 goals in three straight games, their first time scoring 18 or more goals in three straight games since the 2018 season.
• In the Aztecs' 18-12 win over Marquette, they set a season-high for shots (42), shots on goal (32) and caused turnovers (16). Their previous high for caused turnovers was 9 at Oregon.
• Against Marquette, seven different Aztecs scored led by Camdyn O'Donnell's career-high seven goals.
• SDSU has alternated wins and losses over their last four games.
• SDSU is 10th in the nation in shots on goal per game (25.6). The Aztecs have had at least 28 shots on goals in five of their last six games.
• SDSU is 17th in the nation with 19.1 ground balls per game. Goalkeeper Sam Horan is sixth in the nation with 3.6 ground balls per game.
• On three occasions an Aztec has scored eight or more points in a game this year (Balsama twice & O'Donnell once). Prior to this year, that had only happened twice in SDSU's 10-year history.
Player Notes
Deanna Balsama (Sr. | Attack | Sea Isle, N.J.)
• Balsama leads the nation in goals per game (5.14) and shots on goal per game (7.57).
• She is also top ten in free position goals per game (3rd, 1.71), shots per game (4th, 9.14), points per game (9th, 5.57) and total goals (36).
• She is on pace to score 77 goals. The school record is 52 set by Harlowe Steele in 2019.
• Balsama has scored eight goals in two of the last three games, the most in a game in school history.
• Her 10 points against Princeton tied for the most in a game in school history (Michaela Jarvis – 2013). She also had nine against Oregon.
Camdyn O'Donnell (Jr. | Attack | Poway, Calif.)
• O'Donnell had seven goals and an assist against Marquette last Tuesday. Her seven goals tied for the second most in school history and her eight points tied for the fourth most in program history.
• She attempted 14 shots, the most ever in a game for an Aztec.
• She collected eight ground balls at Oregon (Feb. 27), the most in school history.
Sam Horan (Sr. | GK | San Rafael, Calif.)
• Horan averages 13.0 saves per game, tied for the most in the nation.
• She has made 39 saves over the last two games. Her 21 saves against Princeton was a school record and then she saved 18 against Marquette, the third-most in school history.
• She is averaging 3.57 ground balls per game, the sixth most in the nation.
Julia Lytle (Sr. | Midfield | Martinsville, N.J.)
• Lytle caused five turnovers against Marquette last Tuesday, tied for the second-most in school history.
• Against UC Davis on Feb. 22, she had seven ground balls, which tied a school record at the time (O'Donnell had eight the following week).
Bailey Brown (Sr. | Midfield | Katy, Texas)
• Brown is the all-time leader in draw controls with 210 and counting.
• She had nine draw controls at Oregon, which matched her career-high. Brown is the only Aztec in school history to have at least nine draw controls in a game twice (she has done it on three occasions).
• She is tied with O'Donnell and Brook Waddell for the team lead with five assists.
Opponent Notebook (Drexel)
Drexel is 4-4 on the year and receiving votes in the latest IWLCA poll… They have lost three of their last four… They went 13-3 last year and made the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Rutgers 16-13… Drexel was picked to finish second in the Colonial Athletic Association… They are coming off a 10-9 loss to No. 13 Florida… They are 1-1 on the road… They will play Denver at SDSU Friday…They are outscoring their opponents 95-75 on the year… They have a clearing percentage of 90.6, 20th in the nation… Karson Harris, the reigning CAA Player of the Year, leads the team in points (27), goals (22), draw controls (25) and caused turnovers (11)… Corinne Bednarik has a team-high nine assists and 14 goals… Colleen Grady had 13 goals and eight assists… Harris (third team) & Grady (honorable mention) were named preseason All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse… Goalkeeper Zoe Bennett (4-4) has a goals allowed average of 9.43 (11th in the nation) and a saves percentage of 0.523 (8th in the nation)… Head coach Kim Hillier is in her first year as the Dragon's head coach. She had spent the previous five years at Stony Brook… This is the first ever meeting with Drexel.
Aztecs Host Drexel Wednesday Evening
