San Diego State lacrosse fell to No. 4 Boston College 19-8 under light rainfall on March 10 at Aztec Lacrosse Field.
Boston College, last year’s NCAA champion runner-up, came out hot and took a five goal lead over SDSU within the first seven minutes.
The Aztecs drop to 5-3 on the season with the loss, while the Eagles remain undefeated, improving to a record of 9-0.
Head coach Kylee White said she was pleased with how her team matched up against Boston College, despite the loss.
“I was very happy with how we came out after the first five goals we gave them,” White said. “We played probably 80 percent of that game really tough and I was really excited about how we competed.”
Although the Aztecs lost by 11 goals, White said that the final score was not representative of how the game went.
“I don’t think (the score) represents how close the game actually was,” White said. “I think we made them work for most of their opportunities. We just got a little bit careless in our turnovers towards the end.”
SDSU was pressed by the Eagles throughout the afternoon, and it turned the ball over 13 times.
Sophomore attacker Sam Apuzzo, the top scorer in the nation, scored six goals for Boston College for a new total of 43 on the season.
For the Aztecs, junior attacker Kirstie Greenlaw and sophomore midfielder Morgan Taylor came off the bench to score five combined goals.
Greenlaw, who finished the game with a hat-trick, credited her teammates for helping her find open shots against the Eagles.
They knew when it comes time, when I see that lane and I’m going, everyone just has a vision of, ‘That’s my lane and no one gets through,’” Greenlaw said. “So it was all up to my girls and it’s just a really great feeling just to keep going and not have to be stopped.”
Greenlaw said that her team played well against a tough opponent.
“They may be the fourth ranked team in the nation, but with our defense and our midfield, just how we worked together, it was unanimous. We still did a great job,” Greenlaw said.
Redshirt freshman Lexi Tan and junior midfielders Grace McGinty and Natalie Peel also contributed a goal for SDSU.
The Eagles held a shot advantage of 32-17, leading to 13 saves for Aztecs redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Katy Sharretts.
SDSU’s netminder had a double-save two-and-a-half minutes into the contest, and White said that she was impressed with Sharretts’ performance in the net.
“We made them work for some of their goals, but they had some clear, open opportunities,” White said. “(Sharretts), she stood on her head and had 13 saves. You can’t save some of those ones.”
Sharretts now has 72 saves this season, and praised the Aztecs defensive effort against the Eagles.
“I thought our defense played awesome. They played really good 1v1 defense, and if they got beat, our help was ready to slide,” Sharretts said. “They played great crease defense, which really helped.”
The Aztecs are now set to travel to South Carolina for a two-game tandem against Furman on March 16 and Wofford on March 18.
Greenlaw believes that SDSU will use its speed to compete against its next two opponents.
“I think we definitely need to pick it up in our transition; just being able to get those scrappy balls and just to rely on our legs and run up the field,” Greenlaw said. “We’re a fast team, that’s what we’re known for. We’re just gonna plow them down in the next two games.”
