SAN DIEGO – The Aztec lacrosse team (6-8) returns home after a lengthy road trip to host UC Davis (5-6) Sunday at 1 p.m. for Senior day.
Aztec Tidbits
• This is the Aztecs' second meeting with UC Davis, their old MPSF foe, this season. SDSU lost at Davis 16-13 on Feb. 20. In the game, Deanna Balsama (6) and Julia Lytle (5) combined for 11 goals and Lytle had seven ground balls. The Aggies had a slight edge in shots (36-34), but the shots on goal were even at 29-29.
• Prior to Sunday's game, SDSU will honor its five departing seniors: Bailey Brown, Erin Cady, Lauren Kilger, Julia Lytle and Courtney Robinson. The remaining seniors on the Aztec roster plan to return in 2023, using the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to COVID-19.
• This is SDSU's first home game since March 27. During their five-game stretch away, they went 3-2 to improve to 5-5 in road/neutral games on the year, tying their most wins away from San Diego in school history.
• Deanna Balsama set new single-season records for most goals (57) and points (66) in a season. She broke the marks of 52 goals and 63 points set by Harlowe Steele in 2019.
• Balsama is on the prestigious Tewaaraton Award Watch List, which annually honors the top college lacrosse player in the country.
• Balsama (66) and Camdyn O'Donnell (47) have combined for 113 points. Only the duo of Michaela Jarvis (59) and Bailey Ewing (56) in 2013 have combined for more points.
• The Aztecs rank in the top 40 nationally in three statistical categories: saves percentage (26th, 0.465), shots on goal per game (29th, 23.6) and ground balls per game (34th, 17.3).
• Earlier this season, the Aztecs 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.
• In SDSU's wins at Quinnipiac and Columbia earlier this month, 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.
• 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.
• SDSU has played six games against teams currently ranked or receiving votes in the top 25 in the latest IWLCA poll.
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 set new single-season records for most goals (57) and points (66) in a season. She broke the marks of 52 goals and 63 points set by Harlowe Steele in 2019.
• Balsama is top 10 in the nation in five categories. She is fourth in free position goals per game (1.4), fifth in shots on goal per game (6.4), seventh in goals per game (4.1) and shots per game (8.1) and ninth in goals (57).
• 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 (12.1) and third in total saves (170).
• Her 170 saves are the second most saves in a season in school history, trailing Katy Sharretts' 192 in 2019.
• Horan's save percentage of 0.463, is just behind the single season record of 0.467 set by Sharretts in 2019.
• Her career save percentage of 0.454 is also right behind Sharretts' mark of 0.458.
• She is averaging 3.36 ground balls per game, the fifth most in the nation. Her 47 ground balls on the year are the second most in school history, trailing Katrina Reeves' 58 in 2017.
• 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.
Camdyn O'Donnell (Jr. | Attack | Poway, Calif.)
• She is second on the team in points (47) and goals (31). Her 47 points are the fifth most in a season in school history.
• Her 16 assists are tied for the most on the team.
• 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 233 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 (23) and fourth in points (29).
Brook Waddell (Soph. | Attack | Wilsonville, Ore.)
• Her 16 assists are tied for the most on the team.
• She is third on the team with 33 points.
• She had career-highs in goals (3), assists (3) and points (6) at Columbia.
Julia Lytle (Sr. | Midfield | Martinsville, N.J.)
• She leads the team with 22 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 (UC Davis)
The Aggies are 5-6 on the year and 2-4 on the year… They are coming off a 16-15 loss to Cal, who the Aztecs beat 15-6 in February… They allow 12.9 goals per game while scoring 11.9… They have a clearing percentage of 0.904, 18th in the nation… Alex Agnew leads the Aggies with 54 points. She has 33 assists, averaged 3.0 per game, the third most in the nation… Kendall Seifert leads the team with 27 goals… Goalkeeper Ashley Land averages 11.3 saves per game, which is sixth in the nation... Head coach Suzanne Isidor (5th year) has led UC Davis to 37 wins… SDSU is 5-7 all-time against UC Davis. The Aggies won have won the last three meetings and four of the last five… The Aztecs are 2-4 against UC Davis in San Diego.
Aztecs Host UC Davis Sunday for Senior Day
