BERKELEY, CALIF. – The Aztec lacrosse team fell to Cal 17-13 Saturday afternoon. Sara Toner led the team with four goals.
The Aztecs (2-13, 1-5) and the Golden Bears (5-9, 2-4) went back and forth to begin the match, with no team leading by more than two for the first 24 minutes. Despite all their efforts, once Cal was up by three, the Aztecs were not able to close that gap from the second quarter. Both teams scored seven goals in the second half, with the Aztecs out-scoring the Bears 4-3 in the final 15 minutes. The Aztecs out-shot the Bears 43-30 and 27-24 in shots on goal. SDSU was 3-8 in free-position shots, while Cal was 6-9.
Toner led the team with four goals and five ground balls, with Frankie Garcia trailing close behind with three goals and one assist. Emma Betts had two goals while the rest of the scoring came from Kate Christos, Tatum Neach, Morgan Delwiche, and Victoria Rankin. Rankin led the Aztecs with eight draw controls. Katie Wozencroft, Jackie Heinerichs, and Toner each had two caused turnovers. Goalkeeper Avery Dyer had five saves and 12 goals allowed on 22 shots faced.
Isabel King led the Bears with five points from four goals and one assist. Mya Wang had three goals and four other Bears had two. Kalena Johnson led the team with three ground balls and Courtney Wong led with six draw controls. Goalkeeper Callan Fritsch had 12 saves and nine goals allowed on 33 shots faced.
"Tough loss today. I think Cal was just a better team, playing for their seniors and they left everything out there. We played a little bit safe versus the opposite of how good they played and left everything out there, they played fearless. We knew what was on the line and that's a lot of pressure to put on this kind of team. They didn't want to make mistakes, they worked their tails off and I'm proud of them for that. It was just a really tough one because I know they really wanted it and we really wanted it too," explained Head Coach Kylee White. "Next Saturday is going to be really special with our senior day and I hope that we can continue to rally around each other and play our best for our seniors. Back to today's game, Tori did a great job with her draw controls, Emma having some clutch goals, Sara playing out of her mind with the acrobatic-type goals that she's been able to score, those were all important parts of the game."
STAT OF THE GAME
Sara Toner's 13 shots is the second most in a single game in SDSU history.
THE NOTE
Now at 60 draw controls on the season, Victoria Rankin moves up to fourth for most draw controls in a season.
UP NEXT
The Aztecs return home to face No. 22 USC for Senior Day on Saturday April 27.