SAN DIEGO – The Aztec lacrosse team (5-7) is on another lengthy road trip this weekend. They play at No. 13 Rutgers (11-3) Saturday at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET) and they play Brown (5-5) at Fairleigh Dickinson University (Madison, N.J.) Monday at 9 a.m. PT (Noon ET). The Rutgers game will be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required).
Aztec Tidbits
• SDSU is in the midst of a five-game road stretch. They won at Quinnipiac and Columbia two weeks ago and fell at No. 3 Northwestern last weekend. After this trip to New Jersey, they will host UC Davis for senior day April 24.
• This is the first time since 2012, the program's first season, that SDSU has played five or more straight games outside the Pacific time zone.
• Saturday's game vs. No. 13 Rutgers will be SDSU's sixth game against teams currently ranked in the top 25 in the latest IWLCA poll.
• The Aztecs have three players who will be returning to their home state of New Jersey this weekend: Julia Lytle (Martinsville), who transferred to SDSU from Rutgers, Deanna Balsama (Sea Isle) and Kate Christos (Madison). Monday's game vs. Brown at Fairleigh Dickinson is in Christos' hometown.
• Prior to last weekend's loss at No. 3 Northwestern, the Aztecs had won three straight road games, which was just the second time ever that SDSU had won three in a row on the road. and the first time since the 2014 season.
• Deanna Balsama tied Harlowe Steele (2019) for the Aztec school record when she scored her 52nd goal of the season last weekend. Balsama, who is fifth in the nation in goals per game, is on pace to finish the season with 65 goals and 74 points, which would also be a school record.
• Balsama was added to the prestigious Tewaaraton Award Watch List, which annually honors the top college lacrosse player in the country. Balsama has set school records for goals in a game (8 twice), tied the record for points in a game (10) and is three goals away from setting a new program high for goals in a season.
• The Aztecs rank in the top 40 nationally in five statistical categories: saves percentage (20th, 0.472), shots on goal per game (23rd, 24.3), free position percentage (31st, 0.481), shots per game (36th, 31.4) and fewest turnovers per game (38th, 14.1).
• In SDSU's wins at Quinnipiac and Columbia two weeks ago, SDSU held their opponents to 13 total goals, their fewest allowed in a two-game stretch since 2018 when they held Furman and Wofford to 11 goals across two road games.
• The Aztecs' 20 goals at Columbia was their highest scoring output since March 13, 2018 vs. Bucknell. The 20-6 win was also their largest margin of victory since beating Wofford 23-4 March 18, 2018.
• SDSU's four road wins are their most since 2018.
• On three occasions this season 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 was added to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List, which is given to the nation's top player.
• She tied the SDSU record for most goals in a season. Her 52 goals tied the record set by Harlowe Steele in 2019. She is on pace to score 65 goals.
• Steele had 63 points in 2019 and Balsama is on pace to finish the year with 74.
• Balsama is top 10 in the nation in five categories. She is second in free position goals per game (1.6), third in shots on goal per game (6.7), fifth in goals per game (4.3) and shots per game (8.2) and eighth in goals (52).
• Balsama has scored eight goals in a game twice, 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.
Sam Horan (Sr. | GK | San Rafael, Calif.)
• Horan is second in the nation in saves per game (12.9) and total saves (155).
• She has a chance to set the school record for most saves in a season (192 by Kate Sharretts in 2019).
• Horan has a save percentage of 0.470. The school record is 0.467 by Sharretts in 2019.
• She had a three-game stretch where she averaged 18.3 saves per game. First, she had a school record 21 saves against No. 10 Princeton then she saved 18 against Marquette in the following game, the third-most in school history and then against Drexel, she had 16, fourth-most in school history.
• She is averaging 3.17 ground balls per game, the eighth most in the nation.
Camdyn O'Donnell (Jr. | Attack | Poway, Calif.)
• Her 14 assists are tied for the most on the team.
• She is second on the team in points (43) and goals (29).
• O'Donnell had seven goals and an assist against Marquette on March 15. 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 against Marquette, the most ever in a game for an Aztec.
• She collected eight ground balls at Oregon (Feb. 27), the most in school history.
Bailey Brown (Sr. | Midfield | Katy, Texas)
• Brown is SDSU's all-time leader in draw controls with 231 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 third on the team in goals (19) and fourth in points (25).
Brook Waddell (Soph. | Attack | Wilsonville, Ore.)
• Her 14 assists are tied for the most on the team.
• She is third on the team with 29 points.
• She had career-highs in goals (3) and assists (3) at Columbia.
Julia Lytle (Sr. | Midfield | Martinsville, N.J.)
• She leads the team with 19 caused turnovers on the year.
• Lytle caused five turnovers against Marquette March 15, 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).
Opponent Notebook (No. 13 Rutgers)
The Scarlet Knights are 11-3 and ranked No. 13 in the nation… They are 7-1 at home… All three of their losses have come against ranked teams (Maryland, Northwestern & Arizona State)… They have lost two of their last three games… They are in the top 15 nationally in ground balls per game (10th, 19.5), free position percentage (12th, 0.512), and caused turnovers per game (12th, 10.21)… Taralyn Naslonski leads the team in points (60)… Cassidy Spills for the team lead in goals (50)… Stephanie Kelly has 32 assists, the sixth most in the nation… Meghan Ball is top 10 in the nation in caused turnovers (2.6) and ground balls per game (3.1)… Goalkeeper Sophia Cardello has a goals allowed average of 10.86 and a saves percentage of 0.409… Head coach Melissa Lehman (3rd year) led Rutgers to its second NCAA tournament appearance ever last year and earned their first ever NCAA Tournament win… This is SDSU's first ever meeting with Rutgers.
Opponent Notebook (Brown)
Brown is 5-5 and has lost three of its last four games… They play at Penn Saturday… They have a clearing percentage of 0.917, 10th best in the nation… They average 14.9 fouls per game, the most in the Ivy League… Mia Mascone has a team-high 25 goals and 32 points… Claire Jeschke leads the team in assists (16) and is second with 31 points… Emmie Lau leads the team with 46 draw controls… Goalkeeper Erin Tucker has a goals allowed average of 12.24 and a saves percentage of 0.431… Head coach Keely McDonald, a former standout at Brown, is in her 18th season with the Bears… SDSU is 2-0 all-time against Brown, winning on the road 13-8 in 2015 and at home 13-8 in 2017.