SAN DIEGO – San Diego State lacrosse took on Oregon in a Monday afternoon game at Aztec Field, battling against the Ducks in the rain, but ultimately coming up just short in a 12-10 decision.
The Aztecs fall to 1-2 on the season while Oregon improves to a 3-0 record.
“Another heartbreaking loss,” said Head Coach Kylee White. “We were in the fight the entire game. I felt really good about how we were playing. Oregon just made some adjustments at halftime that we couldn’t counter quickly enough defensively, but for such a young, inexperienced team, we showed up and we got better. They played with grit, physicality and all the things that I ask from them. I think there was just a little bit of inexperience shining through at the end of the game that we couldn’t get past. The goal is to get better with every game, and we did that. We showed that we’re able to handle more physical teams, and it highlighted some of the pieces of our game that we need to spend some time on in practice. We learned a lot of valuable lessons from this game. We’re going through growing pains right now, but if we keep buying in and trusting the process, great things are ahead for this group.”
Mia Maechtel and Keira Doyle-Odenbach continued to lead the Aztec offense, scoring three goals apiece with one assist each. The sophomores lead the team in points through the first three games with 12 and 10, respectively. Doyle-Odenbach also picked up two ground balls, one draw control and caused one turnover.
Tate Stokesberry found the back of the net twice for her eighth and ninth goals of the season, while also adding one assist and two caused turnovers. Barrett Doan and Tatum Neach also got on the board, each putting away one.
It was another solid defensive performance from the Scarlet and Black, who forced the Ducks to turn it over 12 times. Jordan Dobin led the Aztecs on the defensive end with a career-high stat line, picking up three ground balls and causing three turnovers. Caitlin Boughton, who played the entirety of the game in the cage, ended with six saves off 25 shots faced.
The Ducks were led by attacker Emma Ing, who had six goals on the day. Anna Simmons and Avery Young added two each while Liv Kozitza and Lilly Fortin both put one in the net. Simmons was a key factor for Oregon in the midfield, recording four draw controls, three caused turnovers, two assists and two ground balls in addition to her two goals.
Oregon jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first four minutes, but the Aztecs responded with four unanswered goals, giving them the advantage at the end of the first period. It was back-and-forth scoring for the entirety of the second stanza, and the Aztecs remained ahead 6-5 at the break. The two teams continued to exchange goals through the third period until the Ducks went on a three-goal run in the final three minutes to go up 10-8. Only four goals were scored in the final 15 minutes, two for each team, which was not enough for San Diego State to hold off Oregon in a 12-10 defeat.
Next up, the Aztecs hit the road on Feb. 28 to take on East Carolina at 9 a.m. PT in Greenville, N.C.