The San Diego State Men’s Lacrosse team faced off against the 25th ranked Utah Valley on Saturday afternoon, losing 14-10.
The Aztecs came into the game with a 3-7 record, hoping to break a tough 6 game losing streak. Conversely, Utah Valley came in 7-1, fresh off a 23-9 loss to Arizona State. Unfortunately for the Aztecs, Utah Valley came out hot, taking a quick 5-1 lead. The Aztecs’ defense was unable to contain Utah’s fast moving offense. Pair that with bad turnovers and mental errors equaled a tough first quarter for the Aztecs.
The second quarter was more of the same for the Aztecs, as Utah valley was able to increase their lead to 8-3 going into the half. The Aztecs had a rough first half, recording merely 7 shots on net, and only being able to score 3 goals. Captain Pat Greene noticed the sluggish start for his team.
“We were not very good, we were slow and looked almost uninterested… We knew we had to get back into the game and keep fighting.”
Pat Greene
The Aztecs did just that in the third quarter. Greene was able to score 3 times in the third quarter to help cut the deficit. With good offense, the Aztecs also picked it up defensively in the third after a quick goalie switch at half. Goalie Steven O’Sullivan played lights out in the second half for the men’s lacrosse team. He was able to make 8 saves in the second half to keep the game close.
Although the Aztecs managed a quick goal at the start of the 4th, cutting the lead to just one for Utah Valley, the Aztecs soon regressed to their position at the start of the match, as Utah Valley scored 4 more goals, bringing the lead to 13-8 late in the fourth.
Ultimately the Aztecs were unable to complete the comeback and fell to Utah Valley 14-10 as their losing streak now stands at 7 in a row and are 3-8 overall. Captain Owen Schnur says this will not deter SDSU.
“It has been tough on all of us, but it is not over yet if we can win our next two conference games we can still make the playoffs. So we are going to work hard and focus on those two very important games.”
Owen Schnur
The Aztecs will take on the USC Trojans (6-5) on Saturday March 30th in a very crucial conference game.