San Diego State lacrosse extended their winning streak to four games after defeating Lehigh 13-6 on March 10 at the Aztec Lacrosse Field.
The Aztecs (6-1) were pulled into a defensive affair against the Mountain Hawks (3-3) that took 30 minutes before the SDSU offensive created enough separation to come away victorious.
At halftime both sides were tied in points (five), turnovers (six), total shots (17) and ground balls won (nine). Neither team was able to surpass the defensive chess match going on in the game.
Head coach Kylee White said at the break the team was losing sight of their goal and had to concentrate on executing the game plan.
“I told them that they needed to start playing with more energy,” she said. “They had to start focusing on what was important now and playing each part of the game.”
In the second period the Aztecs stayed persistent on offense by delivering 21 shots.
The Scarlet and Black also managed to outdo Lehigh in draw controls won (7-3) and ground balls (12-8).
Senior defender and team captain Shannon Gallagher said her teammates kept motivating and pushing one another, which led to the offensive breakthrough in the second half.
“I think we do well when we get the team going,” she said. “When we capitalize on every play, when someone scores, it gives us more energy and we feed off of that.”
Sophomore attacker Julia Sheehan said the team was successful in the final period because of their increased communication.
“Everybody was on the same page,” she said. “There were no grey areas.”
The Aztecs limited Lehigh’s opportunities on offense by holding them to just nine shots and one goal in the second half. Additionally, the Mountain Hawks appeared to lose control of the game by committing 12 fouls and eight turnovers.
Gallagher said the team locked down on defense by getting physical and positioning themselves into areas where they knew Lehigh would struggle.
“I think we played together,” she said. “We had really great pressure and we were very connected as one solid unit.”
One area of concern for the Aztecs was the accumulation of fouls and cards issued. SDSU had a total of 30 fouls while having two yellow cards and two green cards.
White said both fatigue and scrappiness played a part in the team’s buildup of penalties.
“I thought it was a mixture of us playing undisciplined and feeding into the fatigue of having so many games back to-back,” she said.
Gallagher said fouls are part of the game but sometimes the intensity and emotions of matches can lead to things getting out of hand.
“It’s not what we look for. It’s not what we want,” she said. “I think that comes from hustling and playing hard.”
Next up for the Aztecs is Bucknell on March 13 at the Aztec Lacrosse Field.
