Second Half Surge Pushes Aztecs Past Lady Flames
3/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
The Liberty Lady Flames lacrosse squad fell to San Diego State by a score of 18-12 in San Diego, Calif. The Aztecs used a six-goal spurt over a span of 12 minutes to improve their season mark to 4-2. Liberty falls to 1-6 following the loss.
The contest was a tale of two halves as the two squads battled back-and-forth in the first half before San Diego State pulled away for good in the second stanza.
The Aztecs jumped on the scoreboard first with three minutes expired when Felice Artuso netted her eighth goal of the season.
Liberty answered with firepower of their own, netting three unanswered goals to take a 3-1 lead. Co-captain and redshirt senior, Morgan Becker, began the scoring for the Lady Flames when the Virginia native notched her seventh goal of the season. Sam Struss found the co-captain running toward net for the equalizer, securing Struss' fifth assist on the campaign.
Freshman standout Katy Pridemore collected the next two strikes for the red and blue. With 22:30 left to play in the opening frame, the Florida native provided Liberty with its first lead of the match. Nearly two minutes later, Pridemore was at it again as she raced to the net, placing the ball into the upper left corner for the 3-1 lead.
The Aztecs went on a three-goal run of their own during the next 11 minutes to take back the lead at 4-3.
Struss evened the contest up at four after her 16th goal of the season. After being granted a free position, the Pennsylvania native buried the ball into the back of the net for the equalizer with 8:52 left to play before intermission.
Pridemore collected her hat trick durign the 23rd minute of play for her 18th goal of the season. Pridemore's goal gave Liberty its second lead of the game at 5-4.
Over the final seven minutes of the half, the Aztecs scored three of the contest's next four goals to take the 7-6 lead into the break. Liberty's final goal of the half came from Becker for her second goal of the contest and eighth of the season.
San Diego State began the second half with its third unanswered goal to take an 8-6 advantage over the visiting Lady Flames.
Once again, Liberty clawed back into the contest with two unanswered goals to even the game at eight apiece. Alyssa Kidder provided the first strike of the half for the Lady Flames. The New York native capitalized on a free position attempt for her first goal of the season, bringing Liberty to within one.
Pridemore notched her fourth goal of the contest and 19th of the season with 23:04 left to play. After earning a free position attempt, Pridemore took the ball to the bottom left corner for the equalizer.
After the Aztecs called a timeout, San Diego State rallied for a 6-0 run to take a 14-8 advantage. Christina Ricciardulli and Alexa Comfort each scored two goals during the spurt.
Despite falling behind by six, the Lady Flames did not give up. Struss pulled Liberty to within five thanks to her 17th goal of the season. Struss' goal was set up by Courtney Brown's third assist on the year.
Becker notched her third goal of the contest with 9:03 left to play to bring Liberty back to within four. Just like the first Liberty goal, Struss found Becker running to the net for her sixth assist. Becker's hat trick marked the third time she had accomplished the feat in the last four contests.
San Diego State pushed the lead back to six with 4:52 left in the contest when Comfort and Lauren Maack netted their eighth and fourth goals, respectively.
Down but not out, Liberty attempted one final push. With 3:11 left to play, Kidder netted her second goal of the contest when Kallie Britton found the junior dashing toward the net. Kidder placed the ball into the top right corner to bring Liberty to within five.
Liberty's final goal came from Becker as she was set up by Pridemore to bring the Lady Flames to within four. The freshman found the redshirt senior for Becker's fourth goal of the contest and 10th of the season. Becker's strike came with 2:40 left to play in the match.
The Aztecs spoiled any hopes of a comeback, netting two more goals in the closing minutes to solidify the 18-12 victory.
Juliann Elmer added to her NCAA leading saves mark with 17 saves during the contest. With Elmer's 17 saves, the Maryland native catapulted over the century mark in saves, now sitting at 108 saves on the year.
Liberty returns to action when the Lady Flames travel to Fairfax, Va., on Wednesday to take on the George Mason Patriots. The contest is slated to begin at 4 p.m. at the George Mason Stadium.