SAN DIEGO – San Diego State lacrosse welcomed USC to Aztec Field on Saturday afternoon, coming up short 21-14 to the 22-ranked Trojans.
Despite winning the second half with a commanding ten goal performance, the Aztecs (4-2, 0-0 Big 12) could not overcome a ten-point halftime deficit.
The Trojans (5-1, 0-0 Big 10), earn their fifth straight win of the season, next facing Saint Joseph’s in Los Angeles.
Bella Tan had five goals on the day. The redshirt freshman currently leads the Aztecs with 21 through the first six games of the season.
Frankie Garcia recorded the most points on Saturday, posting three goals and three assists. The sophomore leads the team in both points (29) and assists (10).
Sara Toner and Tatum Neach scored two goals apiece and Keira Doyle-Odenbach and Matty Spaeth each added one.
Garcia recorded six ground balls, while Tan had five and Doyle-Odenbach had four. Doyle-Odenbach also earned five draw controls to lead the Scarlet and Black.
Maddie Dora led the Trojans in scoring, finding the back of the net five times. Isabelle Vitale and Kaylee Fravert scored three, Christina Gagnon, Reese Robinson and Hannah Barron each had two, and Emma Bunting, Lily Bunting, Alexis May and Lillie Bea Cope each put in one.
It was a tale of two halves for the Aztecs. After Tan put San Diego State on the board first with a free position goal at the 13:13 mark, USC jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the first period. The Trojan offense continued to overwhelm the Aztecs in the second period, giving USC a 14-4 advantage at the half.
The Scarlet and Black came out hot in the third, quickly putting three between the pipes, from Garcia (2) and Neach (1). Tan added two more in the final minute and a half, allowing the Aztecs to outscore the Trojans 5-1.
USC responded in the fourth period, outscoring San Diego State 6-5 to capture the 21-14 victory.
“I wish we didn’t wait so long to compete, but I’m proud of the way that we stepped off the field today,” said Head Coach Kylee White. “I think the last two games have been really positive learning experiences. My biggest takeaway is that we need to start believing in ourselves way earlier, because once we started to believe that we can be on the same field as a ranked opponent, we won that second half. We won it in every category, and decisively. We didn’t have a perfect game, nor did we have a perfect second half, but we had energy, and we had fight, and we made it difficult for USC to finish on top.”
Next up, the Aztecs will head to Eugene, Ore. to take on the Oregon Ducks on Thursday at noon PT before returning to San Diego to host East Carolina on March 10 at 7 p.m. at Snapdragon Stadium.
Tickets to the Snapdragon game can be purchased here.