San Diego State lacrosse defeated Bucknell, 20-8, on Wednesday night at the Aztec Lacrosse Field.
The Aztecs (7-1) have won five games in a row and clinched their best eight game start in program history.
SDSU was sharp on defense and pulled away early after limiting the Bisons (1-6) to just eight total shots while also preventing the visitors from scoring for over 21 minutes between the two halves.
“I was very happy,” head coach Kylee White said. “We never really felt safe until that last buzzer because (Bucknell) made us work for it.”
Midfielders Taylor Sullivan, Harlowe Steele and Courtney Robinson led the way for the Aztecs in scoring by racking up three goals each.
Steele and Sullivan had identical stat lines on the night with three goals, one assist, six shots and four points each.
In the first half, the Aztecs finished the period on a 7-3 run while forcing nine turnovers. Senior attacker Kirstie Greenlaw scored two of the seven goals and assisted twice that put the home team up 13-6 at halftime.
Greenlaw said the team came out strong and played hard on both sides of the ball.
“I think the confidence is there,” she said. “We had a lot of the girls who are not in as much really step up today.”
The Aztecs have outscored their opponents 80-45 in their last five matches and appear to show no signs of slowing down on the offensive side of the ball.
“We’ve had such a great run from these past games,” Greenlaw said. “We have really been excited this entire season.”
Senior midfielder Jill Haight had two goals and one assist in the match which now puts her at six goals, four assists and 10 total points on the season.
Haight said that the team chemistry has been amazing and every player contributes to their overall success.
“Working together has been exciting,” she said. “It’s been on both sides of the ball. It starts with the defense and then on offense we’ve been connecting.”
Haight said the coaching staff did a good job of preparing the team to face Bucknell.
“I think we came out ready to play as a team,” she said. “We played hard for 60 minutes.”
The momentum carried over for the Aztecs in the second half, as the team scored seven times while having 15 shots and seven draw controls.
“It helps to have the ball more,” White said. “We did spend some time on film breaking some of that stuff down and putting the emphasis on getting better.”
The Aztecs had a total of 14 turnovers and 12 fouls.
White said the competition only gets tougher as the season progresses and if the team wants to keep winning, things have to change.
“We’re going to play some of the top five teams in the country and we have to clean up that part of our game,” she said.
Next up for the Aztecs is LIU Brooklyn on March 16 at the Aztec Lacrosse Field.
