(San Diego, CA) Arizona State lacrosse (5-4) kicked off Pac-12 Conference play with their first road victory of the season in the 17-9 win over San Diego State (1-9) on Sunday. After a 7-7 score at halftime, ASU outscored SDSU 10-2 in the second half to pull away with the win.
Junior goalkeeper Katie Vahle hit the 400 career save mark against the Aztecs, needing seven to hit the mark she tallied 10 in the win. Vahle has now recorded 10+ saves in back-to-back games after 15 saves against Liberty on Wednesday, with ASU outscoring opponents 29-14 during the two-game span.
ASU saw seven different goal scorers combine for 17 goals against the Aztecs including hat tricks for a trio of players: Mina Scott, Teagan Ng, and Anna Thornton. In nine games this season, the Sun Devils have recorded 17 hat tricks.
How it Happened:
Mina Scott struck first for the Sun Devils to put an early 1-0 lead on the board from the visitors. In the first quarter, ASU saw six free position attempts and converted on two of them with goals from Berit Brookfield and Teagan Ng meanwhile SDSU scored two natural goals to make it a 3-2 Sun Devil lead after the first quarter. ASU managed to out-draw the Aztecs 5-1, the only draw being given to SDSU after a penalty.
The two teams traded goals in the second quarter, but eventually it was a 7-7 game at the half. The Sun Devils saw goals from Ng, Anna Thornton, and Scott. ASU had the opportunity to lead 7-6 at the half, but the defense allowed a goal with four seconds remaining. The Sun Devils had 20 shots to SDSU’s 13 at the half.
Three straight goals from Shannon Urey, Brookfield, and Ng gave ASU their biggest lead of the game in the third at 10-7. SDSU’s first goal of the third quarter came with just under five minutes remaining to pull the Aztecs closer in the 10-8 game. Ng found Urey for the fourth ASU goal in the third and the Sun Devil lead was 11-8 after three quarters of play.
The Sun Devils allowed just one goal to the Aztecs in the fourth quarter while putting up five of their own. Goal scorers for ASU in the final frame included Scott, Anna Viglione, Oldknow, Brookfield, and Thornton. Arizona State defense held strong to secure the 17-9 win.
Sun Devil Notables:
With a win today and her fifth of the season, Katie Vahle sits at 20 career wins which ties her with Berkeley Bonneau for the program’s all-time career wins.
Vahle reached 400 career saves midway through the third quarter with her seventh save of the game. She totaled 10 saves today against the Aztecs and sits at 403 career saves. She is one of 17 active goalies at the D1 level with 400+ saves in the NCAA.
With two goals and one assist today, graduate attacker Shannon Urey is two points away from 200 in her career.
Senior attacker Mina Scott scored four goals today which marked her fifth at trick of the season, which is tied for the team lead with Lydia Oldknow.
13 free position shots for ASU today are two shy of the program’s single-game high 15 which came on February 14, 2020 at Detroit Mercy.
The win at San Diego State marked the program’s first win against the Aztecs in enemy territory. In the three previous road meetings, ASU was 0-3 at SDSU.
Sophomore attacker Teagan Ng netted her first hat trick of the season and sixth of her career with three goals against SDSU.
Up Next:
The Sun Devils will return home to Sun Devil Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium to take on No. 17 USC on Sunday, March 23 at 12 p.m. MST. TV information is TBD, but live stats will be available here. Fans can also purchase tickets at this link.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Claudia Schwartz
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