The San Diego State University Women’s lacrosse team lost in their home opener on Saturday against UC Davis 11-19.
Attackers Frankie Garcia, Sara Toner, and midfielder Jenna McDermott each earned a hat trick in the loss. Midfielders Mia Kohn and Victoria Rankin also had their name on the scoreboard.
This is McDermott’s second hat trick of the season, and Garcia’s third game with two or more goals.
Goalkeeper Avery Dyer was busy at the net recording a season-high of 17 saves. Dyer had four or more saves in the first three-quarters of the game.
Despite the loss, head coach Kylee White was proud of the team’s progression through the first three games of the season.
“We fought; we battled,” White said. “I’ve seen growth from game one to game three and that is the important part right now.”
The Aztecs kept the game tight in the first half of the game, but the second half was where the team began to struggle offensively.
“Overall, I think we came off strong. We just needed to emphasize not turning over the ball as much and getting more possession to help our team in the second half,” Garcia said.
The Aggies went up 0-3 in the first quarter but after a timeout by SDSU, the Aztecs scored back-to-back goals to make it 2-3 early in the second quarter.
Toner scored the Aztecs’ first goal of the game with 36 seconds left in the first quarter, and Garcia scored early in the second.
The Aggies responded with back-to-back goals to get the lead back to three; however, this did not stop the Aztecs from making a tied game 5-5.
The Aztecs went on a three-point streak with Garcia scoring two of those goals, including the equalizer.
McDermott earned the first goal of the streak and earned another after the Aggies extended their lead to 5-7. Toner equalized, but the Aggies scored before halftime, making it a one-point deficit 7-8.
The Aggies dominated the second half outscoring the Aztecs 5-2 in the third quarter and 6-1 in the fourth.
“It’s a four-quarter game and we needed to have more pride in our possessions and work the ball a little bit more,” White said.
This is the first of two matches between UC Davis this season. SDSU will have a chance to tie the series on the road during conference play on March 23. The Aztecs are 3-6 in conference play against Davis.
“We learned about us and learned about them today,” White said. “It is harder to beat someone twice, so I think we have the upper hand.”
As the Aztecs prepare for a three-game road trip, White hopes to establish road dominance, especially after not having a road win last season. SDSU got their first road win against Xavier last week 16-6.
“One of our goals this year is to be road warriors,” White said. “That was something we didn’t do last year, so we got our first win under our belt last weekend.”
SDSU will travel to the mile high to face the University of Denver on Feb. 25, at 11 a.m. From there, SDSU continues east to North Carolina to face Campbell and High Point.
The Aztecs will return home on Friday, March 8, at 3 p.m. to face the Florida Gators.
