PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team played host to San Diego State on Thursday evening, using a pair of hat tricks to take down the Aztecs in 13-6 fashion inside Sweeney Field.
 
The Hawks return to winning ways, improving to 5-6 on the season as they look to climb back to .500. San Diego State falls to 5-8, dropping a pair of matchups in Philadelphia after a loss on Tuesday afternoon to Drexel.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• As both teams looked to grow into the game, neither team were able to break down the opposition's defense over the course of the opening eight minutes of the contest. The visitors drew the first punch, Caitlin Jones scoring her 37^th goal of the season for the Aztecs to take the lead.
• The opening Aztec goal proved to be the wake-up call the Hawks needed, responding with goals from Riley Evans and Sarah Groark to take the lead heading into the end of the first quarter.
• On the other side of the break, the Hawks continued to pile on the scoring as St. Joe's continued what would be an eventual 7-0 run. Emma O'Neill proved vital in the spurt, opening with her first goal of the game just a minute into the quarter. After a Bonnie Yu finish, back-to-back goals from O'Neill gave the senior midfielder a hat trick in a span of just four minutes.
• Yu finished off the run with her second of the day with a free-position strike, pushing the Hawk lead to 7-1. The Aztecs responded with the final goal of the half to cut the Hawk advantage to five headed into the break.
• The third quarter was dominated by the Crimson and Gray, scoring all four of the goals in the frame. Maddie Yoder initiated the scoring after finding the back of the net just 52 seconds into the third frame.
• A pair of goals by freshman Kate Fuhrman and a first of the evening from Lisa Ross all but sealed victory as the Hawks headed into the final 15 minutes with an 11-2 edge.
• Leaving it to late, San Diego State scored three of the first four goals over the course of the fourth period, closing the gap to as little as seven goals. Yoder shut down any attempt of closing in with both goals in the fourth, netting her hat trick with just 4:15 remaining in the game.
• One final consolation goal awaited the Aztecs with a little under four minutes left before the Hawks closed out the 13-6 victory to return to the win column.

GAME NOTES

• Maddie Yoder's three goals tied a game-high, her sixth career hat trick coming all in the second half. Emma O'Neill also recorded a hat trick, her fifth of her career.
• Bonnie Yu added two goals in the win, continuing her streak to 10-straight games scoring a goal.
• Kate Fuhrman continues a strong freshman season after recording her second multi-goal game of the season.
• Jorden Concordia provided 10 saves on the night, her third-best mark of the season. The junior goalkeeper tallied a .625 save percentage in the win.
• The seven-consecutive goals scored through the first half was the third-largest streak of the season for the Hawks.
• The Hawks are now 4-0 in games where they take a lead into half.
• The win against the Aztecs was the first in program history, having faced San Diego State twice before in the series history.

 
UP NEXT

• The Hawks return to action in the Atlantic 10, set for a road test against Philadelphia foe La Salle in a 1 p.m. showdown on Saturday, April 1.