SAN DIEGO – San Diego State lacrosse kicked off its 2026 campaign under the lights of Snapdragon Stadium in a Friday evening matchup against California. It was a back-and-forth offensive battle all the way through the final minutes, but the Aztecs were tripped up by the Golden Bears in a 13-12 defeat.
The Aztecs start the season 0-1 while the Bears improve to 1-0.
“I saw a very young team play very mature, experienced and connected,” said Head Coach Kylee White. “I felt very confident coming in that we were prepared and that we had figured out who we were as a team, just gritty and tough. They’ve put a lot of work in over the last seven months, rebuilding our culture and doing all the work on and off the field. They showed they can overcome adversity, like scoring runs by Cal and calls that didn’t go our way. Everyone did their job tonight, and I think they played an incredible game.”
Mia Maechtel led the San Diego State offense, scoring her first career goal five minutes into the first period before putting away two more to total four points with the addition of an assist. The sophomore took seven shots, six of which were on target. She also picked up one ground ball.
Keira Doyle-Odenbach, Tate Stokesberry and Macie Buell each added two goals apiece. Doyle-Odenbach totaled two goals, one assist, four draw controls, two ground balls and one caused turnover. Stokesberry recorded two assists, one ground ball, one draw control and a caused turnover.
Tatum Neach, Megan McDevitt and Lilah Turley also found the back of the net, each putting a point on the board for the Aztecs. Turley had an impressive collegiate debut, picking up four ground balls, three draw controls and two caused turnovers in addition to her first career goal.
The Bears were led by Emily Moes with three goals. Their second leading scorers were Josie Lillquist and Courtney Wong with two each. Ashleigh Masterson, Katie Bloomer, Clara Page, Maddie Willkomm, Avery Hoeft and Katie McMullen also found scoring opportunities for Cal.
The Bears took an early 2-0 lead in the first five minutes, but the Aztecs quickly retaliated and took a 4-3 advantage by the end of the first period thanks to goals from Buell, Maechtel, Doyle-Odenbach and McDevitt. Cal rallied in the second period, outscoring San Diego State 4-2 to take a 7-6 lead into halftime after three unanswered goals from Wong and Lillquist. The Aztecs put away four in the third period to bring the game back to a tie with 15 minutes to play. It was ultimately two final goals from Hoeft and Willkomm that gave the Bears the edge over the Aztecs in the end.
Next up, San Diego State welcomes Fairleigh Dickinson to Aztec Field for a 7 p.m. matchup on Thursday, Feb. 12.