The San Diego State lacrosse team returned home yesterday for its first-ever match against East Carolina with a change of scenery and took the big stage at Snapdragon Stadium with a newfound energy.
“I love Snapdragon,” head coach Kylee White said. “Especially a night game, our girls had a ton of energy, they looked super-fast… and it really makes our team feel valued, and it is just a good experience for our fans.”
The Snapdragon showdown featured a tight match against the Pirates, but SDSU managed to leave the stadium with its fifth win of the season 17-16 (5-3).
“We didn’t play a perfect game, but we played a great team game in the end,” White said. “(we) kept our composure which was the reason we were able to squeak this one out.”
Four Aztecs scored three or more goals in yesterday’s match, with Midfielder Tatum Neach leading the bunch with four goals, a career-high for the junior. Frankie Garcia, Sara Toner and Matty Spaeth were behind Neach with three goals each.
SDSU began the game tallying six points in the first quarter, giving the Aztecs an early three-point lead. This included three consecutive goals from Neach, Garcia and Toner following the first tie of the game at 1-1. Toner also closed the quarter with two straight goals to make the score 6-3.
The Pirates were not going to sink early and managed to close the gap to a point by the end of the second quarter 8-7. The second half had both teams going back-and-forth, especially in the fourth quarter, where the Pirates gave SDSU a run for its money.
Following a 13-11 lead, the Pirates tied the game for the second time and took their first advantage within the first four minutes of the fourth quarter 13-14. Garcia tied the game quickly following a team timeout. According to White, the timeouts mostly addressed matchup and communication issues.
“When we are playing fast and playing connected, we play great,” White said. “I think we were having individual spurs, and we weren’t necessarily playing team offense and team defense. There was good effort, but we need it to be truly connected.”
Boughton earned a much needed save on a free position shot, and Spaeth scored on the ensuing fastbreak to retake the lead 15-14. Keria Doyle-Odenbach followed up Spaeth’s goal with her second goal of the game.
Despite the two-point advantage, the Pirates managed to tie the game once again with just over two minutes remaining, 16-16. SDSU picked up the ensuing draw and followed it with a long possession. With 45 seconds on the clock, Garcia hit the top of the post to retake the advantage. The Pirates did not get an opportunity to respond as the Aztecs won the final draw of the game, running the clock to zero.
With the win, the Scarlet and Black ended a three-game losing streak. The Aztecs were on the other side of a tight game against Oregon last Thursday, 16-17. As for the Big 12, SDSU is still behind Arizona State (6-2) and Florida (4-2) in the non-conference standings. The Aztecs lead the conference in goals per game with 16.29 prior to yesterday’s match.
SDSU remains home to host Ohio State, who is ranked No. 21. This is the second-ranked team SDSU has faced this season, previously playing the No. 22 Denver Pioneers.
“It’s my alma mater, and yet I still want to kick their butt,” White said. “We had some ups and downs over the course of this season, and we gotta figure out how to put that 60 minutes together against a top 20 team.”
