The San Diego State women’s lacrosse team (6-8) lost to the No.11 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten) 14-4 on Saturday, April 16, and defeated the Brown University Bears (5-7, 2-3 Ivy League) 14-8 on Monday, April 18.
At No. 13 Rutgers on Saturday, April 16:
Sophomore Sophia Cardello and senior Sam Horan were resilient in goal to start the first quarter, with four saves apiece.
Graduate Taralyn Naslonski was on fire, scoring four goals for the Scarlet Knights as they led 7-1 at the end of the first quarter.
The Scarlet Knights continued their offensive pressure on the Aztecs, as Naslonski had six points (five goals and one assist) and junior Cassidy Spilis scored her 51st goal of the season at the end of two quarters.
Rutgers outscored SDSU 3-1 in the second quarter and had a total of 15 shots on goal to the Aztecs’ seven.
Both goalies increased their save total by one in the second quarter with both having five.
Senior Courtney Robinson scored the only two goals for the Scarlet and Black, but they were still down 10-2 at the end of the first half.
Naslonski started where she left off in the first half and scored her sixth goal of the game to make it 11-3.
After senior Julia Lytle scored for the Aztecs, sophomores Kate Carolonza and Ashley Moynahan made it 13-3 for the Scarlet Knights.
Similar to the second quarter, Rutgers outscored SDSU 3-1 in the third quarter, and the Aztecs struggled to get past Cardello as she made a total of nine saves.
Freshman Carleigh Forti replaced Cardello in the fourth quarter, and senior Deanna Balsama scored on her to break the school record for goals in a single season. Former Aztec Harlowe Steele held that record with 52 goals in 2019, and Balsama now holds the new school record with her 53rd goal of the season.
After Forti allowed Balsama’s goal, she made a stunning seven saves to secure the Scarlet Knights’ eighth win at home and a 14-4 win. Cardello and Forti combined for 16 saves and Horan had eight.
After the Aztecs were outshot on goal by eight in the first half, they ended the game with 20 shots on goal to the Scarlet Knights’ 22.
The Scarlet and Black were a lot more disciplined than last game, with 19 fouls and one yellow card by senior Bailey Brown.
At Brown on Monday, April 18:
Balsama was electric in the first quarter with three goals for the Aztecs and increased her goal total to 56.
Junior Mia Mascone and senior Sophia DeRosa were the only goal scorers for the Bears and were down 3-2 in the first 15 minutes.
Brown and junior Camdyn O’Donnell were the only goal scorers in the second quarter for the Scarlet and Black, while the Bears were trying to keep pace with sophomore Maddie Joyce and freshman Jessie Bakes’ goals.
The Aztecs led 6-4 at the end of the first half with their eight shots to the Bears 11 shots.
Balsama had four points (three goals and one assist) and O’Donnell had three (one goal and two assists) after 30 minutes.
In the third quarter, Robinson scored to increase the lead for the Aztecs to 7-4, but then the Bears went back-to-back to close the score to 7-6.
Brown scored her third of the game and 22nd goal of the season as the lead increased to 8-6, then Horan denied senior Alaina Parisella’s free-position shot to end the third quarter.
Horan’s five saves and the Aztecs’ seven-caused turnovers were key to keeping the lead.
Mascone closed the lead to 8-7 for the Bears with her third goal of the game and 29th of the season, but another scoring attempt was denied by Horan.
After Horan stopped Mascone, O’Donnell and Brown gave the Aztecs a 10-7 lead, and the Bears head coach Keely Mcdonald took a timeout to reassess.
Mcdonald’s timeout sparked the Bears to offensively attack and Parisella scored to cut the lead to 10-8, but sophomore Brook Waddell scored for the Scarlet and Black to stop any momentum for the opponent.
Fouls by the Bears set up a free-position attempt for senior Cailin Young and she executed with her goal to make it 12-8, then Bears senior Erin Tucker was replaced by sophomore Margaret Woodberry after making five saves.
Balsama and Waddell’s woman-up goals sealed the deal for the Scarlet and Black 14-8, as they completed a five-game road trip with a win.
The Aztecs finished 5-5 on the road this season and will be heading back home for their Senior Day game — the last game of the season — in a rematch with the UC Davis Aggies (5-6) on Sunday, April 24.
