April 19, 2015 Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - Juniors Courtney Neff and Ellie Delich each scored two goals in the Aggies' 5-1 second-half comeback but ultimately UC Davis could not erase its first-half deficit, falling to San Diego State by a 12-9 final in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation women's lacrosse action at Aggie Stadium Sunday.
The Aggies fall to 3-12 for the year and 3-5 in MPSF games. The Aztecs improve to 9-6 overall and 5-3 in conference.
Neff finished with a game-high four goals and earned her team's lone assist. Delich and senior Elizabeth Landry each added two goals while sophomore Savannah Hadley netted her first collegiate goal. Landry added a team-leading six draw controls while junior Mary Doyle led her team with five ground balls to go with two caused turnovers.
For SDSU, senior midfielder Christina Ricciardullu posted a hat trick while junior Felice Artuso, senior Michaela Jarvis and junior Alexa Comfort each added two goals.
The team statistics ran evenly throughout except for the shooting percentages. The Aztecs shot 10-for-13 in the first half while the Aggies struggled to 4-for-12 during the same span. However, UC Davis improved to 5-for-8 in the second half. SDSU also had a slight edge on ground balls (18-17) and draw controls (12-10), while UC Davis tallied one fewer in the turnover column (17-16).
San Diego State never trailed in the contest, opening with two goals in the first 4:17 and holding a 5-2 edge through the first 17 minutes. Junior defender Morgan Sissler made a spectular diving breakup of a pass near the Aztec offensive restraining line, which led to Neff's first goal in the 21st, cutting the deficit back to 5-3. Doyle also posted a big steal which set the stage for Hadley's goal in 3:51 remaining, setting the board at 7-4. However, the Aztecs exploded for three goals in a span of less than three minutes to pull ahead to a 10-4 advantage at the break.
The Aggies seized momentum in the second half, with only a Ricciardulli eight-meter goal interrupting a span of five UC Davis scores. Neff had back-to-back drives to cut the margin to 11-8, then Delich's eight-meter conversion cut the deficit to two with 13:59 remaining. The Aggies could not pull any closer, committing four turnovers and taking no shots down the stretch.
UC Davis wraps up its four-game homestand with a midweek MPSF tilt against Stanford on Wednesday. The team will honor seven seniors in that game: Landry, Lehner, attacker Troy Cragen, defender Sara Quero, goalie Kai Murphy plus medically retired fifth-year players Rachael Mack and Meghan Jordan. First draw is 7 p.m. at Aggie Stadium.
San Diego State (9-6, 5-3) | 10 | 2 | - | 12 |
UC Davis (3-12, 3-5) | 4 | 5 | - | 9 |
GOALS - SDSU: Christina Ricciardulli 3, Felice Artuso 2; Michaela Jarvis 2; Alexa Comfort 2; Kristen Hickey 1; Grace Korandovich 1; Sophie Koubek 1. UC Davis: Courtney Neff 4, Elizabeth Landry 2, Ellie Delich 2, Savannah Hadley 1.
ASSISTS - SDSU: Andrea Killebrew 2; Felice Artuso 1; Kristen Hickey 1; Michaela Jarvis 1; Lauren Maack 1; Alex Watson 1. UC Davis: Courtney Neff 1.
GOALIE SAVES - SDSU: Katrina Reeves 7 (60:00). UC Davis: Kai Murphy 1 (16:47), Lauren Ali 3 (43:13).
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