March 23, 2018
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SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State extended its winning streak to three straight with a gritty 11-10 victory over visiting Liberty on Friday night at Aztec Lacrosse Field.
Junior Harlowe Steele led SDSU (8-3) with a hat trick and five draw controls, while fellow classmate Jill Haight tallied three points of her own on one goal and two assists while adding three draws, as the Scarlet and Black equaled the 2015 and 2017 squads for the best 11-game start in program history.
The Aztec cause was also aided by sophomores Taylor Sullivan and Morgan Taylor, who netted two markers each, while goalkeeper Katy Sharretts matched her career-high with 14 saves.
The Lady Flames (6-3) outshot SDSU 35-23 and maintained a 26-17 advantage in ground balls. However, the Aztecs held a 13-10 edge in draw controls and converted 5 of 7 free position attempts, compared to Liberty's 4-for-8 clip.
The two sides battled through three ties in the defensive battle, including a 4-4 deadlock after the Lady Flames' Brianna McCaffrey knotted the score with a goal off a feed from Carly White with just over a minute elapsed in the second half.
However, SDSU countered with a 7-3 surge over a span of 20 minutes to put the host school in front for good. Sullivan, Taylor and Steele notched two tallies apiece during that stretch, while freshman Bailey Brown capped the run with a successful free position shot at the 4:40 mark to give the host school a seemingly safe 11-7 cushion.
Undaunted, the Lady Flames responded with three straight free-position goals, including the second of two by Mia Toscano with 1:30 left, which trimmed the deficit to 11-10.
Steele won the ensuing draw, but McCaffrey caused a turnover moments later, before giving up possession on the clearing attempt. Junior Elizabeth Adams alertly scooped up the ground ball and the Aztecs managed to run out the clock, preserving the hard-fought victory.
QUOTABLE
"We knew we'd be in for a tough battle tonight against a physical team like Liberty," said SDSU head coach Kylee White. "We were unable to set the tempo in the first half, but overall I was pleased with the way we finished. This was a great team victory and a lot people contributed. Harlowe (Steele) had good numbers and did things offensively and defensively that don't necessarily show up on the stat sheet. Morgan (Taylor) and Bailey (Brown) also came in and gave us a huge spark off the bench."
UP NEXT
San Diego State returns to the Eastern time zone for a pair of road games next week when it travels to Delaware (March 27) and Mount St. Mary's (March 30). Links to live stats and streaming video will be available for both contests on GoAztecs.com.