SAN DIEGO – The Aztec lacrosse team fell to Campbell, 15-12, Friday afternoon. Kate Christos led the Aztecs with five points from two goals and three assists.
The Fighting Camels (2-2) held the Aztecs (1-4) scoreless in the first quarter, leading 7-0. SDSU came out shooting in the second quarter scoring three unanswered goals. The Aztecs outscored Campell 5-3 in the third quarter but were outscored 3-4 in the last quarter, leaving the Aztecs just short of their second victory. SDSU was outshot by Campbell 39-22 and 26-17 in shots on goal. They were 4-7 in extra-man opportunities, while the Fighting Camels were 1-9.
The Aztecs had six players score, led by Sara Toner with four goals. Christos, Emma Betts, and Morgan Delwiche had two each, and Jenna McDermott and Nikki Seven each had one goal. Brooklyne Waddell had two assists. Christos, Joelle Rothbard and Avery Dyer each had one caused turnover. Christos also led the team with seven draw controls. Goalkeeper Avery Dyer had 10 saves and 12 goals allowed on 34 shots faced.
Ally Heath and McKenna Duncan led the Fighting Camels with five points each from four goals and one assist. Heath was three for three on free-position shots. Shania Roehrich had two assists. Hailey Kohlmann and Kattie Ochall led the team with seven and six draw controls respectively. Rebekah Taylor led the team with four caused turnovers. Goalkeeper Emma Strickland had five saves and 12 goals allowed.
"It ended up being a really incredible finish. Yes, we did not win but to go down 0-7 and battle back to a tie game with seven minutes left, it was an outstanding fight from our team and I was so happy to see them chip away at that lead. The biggest takeaway is that we can do that, we can compete with anyone. We just need to go back to that first quarter and step out on the field ready to go. We're going to make some changes to our warm-up, our starting lineup. We're going to find a way to start the game differently because we're playing three quarters every game and there's not one team in this country you can succeed play three quarters against," Head Coach Kylee White explained. "They sent early doubles and triples to Frankie and she's a freshman so that was a big learning moment for her, handling that pressure and having her teammates helping her out. Losing our two draw takers to yellow cards, Emma (Betts) stepped up and did a great job. Kate (Christos) was outstanding today with her seven draw controls. She was really locked in and I was proud to see them step up in those last three quarters. It's great to have two capable goalies, helping each other out. The story of our life seems to be playing to much of the game a player down. Our focuses going into High Point are to start the game with more shots, more ground balls, more draw controls, and a ton more fire, and play an entire 60 minutes, not just 45. We're still on an upward trajectory. Campbell's really good and they were ready to play and they were fast and athletic and exactly what we expected them to be, but we're moving on to the next."
STAT OF THE GAME
Kate Christos tied her career high with five points and had a career high in draw controls with seven.
THE NOTE
The Aztecs overcame a 0-7 deficit to tie the game 12-12 with seven minutes remaining.
UP NEXT
The Aztecs play High Point (March 3) in North Carolina before returning home for four straight home matches.