The San Diego State women’s lacrosse team (5-7) got blown out by the No. 3 Northwestern Wildcats (12-2, 4-0 Big Ten) 20-8 on Sunday, April 10.
The Wildcats dominated the first quarter on offense, but when the Aztecs got a chance on offense, they either hit the post or were stopped by senior Madison Doucette.
Doucette made four saves and graduate Lauren Gilbert — who came into the game leading the team with 52 goals — scored twice.
The score was 6-2 at the end of the first quarter, and the lead could have been larger if it weren’t for six saves made by senior Sam Horan.
Senior Bailey Brown and freshman Emma Betts scored the two goals for SDSU.
The Wildcats went back to dominating on offense after Betts scored her second goal of the game to start the second quarter.
Northwestern got help from the Aztecs’ unidisciplinary play, as their fouls led to three free-position goals.
The Wildcats outscored the Aztecs 10-4 in the second quarter, with eight different players scoring.
Senior Deanna Balsama scored twice and increased her goal total to 52, tying the school record for most goals in a single season. The previous record was set by former Aztec Harlowe Steele in 2019.
Gilbert with her five points (three goals and two assists) and graduate Jill Girardi with her four goals electrified the Wildcats on offense in the first half.
The Wildcats put 24 shots on goal and the Aztecs put up 11. Betts, Balsama and Brown all scored two goals in the first half.
Doucette only made one more save and Horan made two more as the Wildcats led 16-6 at the end of two quarters.
At the start of the third quarter, Balsama had her goal taken off the board because of a dangerous follow-through, leading to a yellow card and denying her a chance for a new school record.
Costly fouls for the Scarlet and Black turned into free-position opportunities for the Wildcats and a one woman-up free-position goal by Gilbert.
There wasn’t much scoring by both teams as the Wildcats increased their lead to 18-7 at the end of the third quarter.
Doucette made seven saves after three quarters and first-year Helaina Harris replaced her to start the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats outscored the Scarlet and Black 2-1 in the fourth quarter and improved to 8-0 at home with their 20-8 victory.
Gilbert ended the game with seven points (four goals and three assists) and 56 goals on the season, along with 10 Wildcat players helping out on the score sheet.
Girardi — who came into the game with the second most draw controls in the nation at 10.8 — had eight draw controls. The Wildcats had 20 draw controls to the Aztecs’ nine.
The Wildcats outshot the Scarlet and Black 43 to 23, and had 35 shots on goal to the Aztecs’ 17.
Horan made 15 saves and Doucette and Harris combined for nine.
SDSU had 39 fouls in the game — 16 more than last game — and five yellow cards that really hurt them throughout the game.
The Scarlet and Black head to Piscataway, N.J. to take on the No.15 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10-3, 2-2 Big Ten) on Saturday, April 16.
