HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Aztec lacrosse team was swept in North Carolina after losing to High Point 17-14 Sunday afternoon. Sara Toner and Brooklyne Waddell led the Aztecs with three points each, Toner from two goals and Waddell from one goal.
The Aztecs (1-5) scored first, getting out to an early 2-0 lead, but the Panthers (2-2) quickly came back and outscored SDSU 6-1 in the last 12 minutes in the first quarter. After being up 13-6 at the half, High Point was up to a 10-point lead with just under nine minutes left in the third quarter. The Aztecs proceeded to score seven unanswered goals through the beginning in the fourth quarter, but their efforts fell just short once again, leaving the Aztecs still searching for that second victory. SDSU outshot High Point 39-28 and 33-22 in shots on goal. They were 4-7 in extra-man opportunities, while the Fighting Camels were 3-8.
The Aztecs spread the scoring around today, with nine players having at least one goal. Along with Toner, Emma Betts, Jenna McDermott, Morgan Delwiche, and Nikki Seven also had two goals each. Also scoring one goal alongside Waddell were Frankie Garcia, Kate Christos, and Victoria Rankin. The Aztecs had 11 caused turnovers, led by Mia Kohn with two. Christos also led the team in draw controls again with eight, beating her career high set two days prior. SDSU also had 11 ground balls, with Betts, Courtney Anderson, and Caitlin Boughton having two each. Goalkeeper Boughton had five saves and nine goals allowed on 17 shots faced.
Esprit Cha led the Panthers with seven points from five goals and two assists. Allie Connally also had two assists. Mandy Brockamp and Kay Rosselli led the team with two ground balls each. Pia Cavallaro led the team with six draw controls. The Panthers only had three caused turnovers with one from Cha, Sydney Martin, and Tatum Mehring. Goalkeepers Joy Coffey and Ava Welsh split the time evenly between the posts. Coffey had seven saves and six goals allowed while Welsh had 12 saves and eight goals allowed.
"It was great to see that our offense was able to get so many shots off today and do a good job attacking the goal. We got off to a much better start but we have to continue to play longer than the initial few minutes and continue on for the full 60 minutes. We're a young team showing some fight and resiliency. These are the great lessons that we're learning right now that hopefully we'll be able to take into future games," Head Coach Kylee White explained. "Our team doesn't give up, so if there is one thing that I am most proud about, it's that this is a team of fighters. We're gonna keep working on areas of the field that we need to get better at, but I was happy with our draw controls, our shooting percentage, and we'll just continue to work on the discipline."
STAT OF THE GAME
Kate Christos beat her career high in draw controls with eight.
THE NOTE
The Aztecs achieved season highs today in shots (39), shots on goal (33), and caused turnovers (11).
UP NEXT
The Aztecs return home for four straight home matches starting with No. 11 Florida (March 8).