By Andrew Hartley (@andrewhart1ey) – Spear Reporter
Head coach Beth Harberts holding a discussion with her team during a timeout in a game against Indiana University on April 13, 2024. I Photo by Andrew Hartley – The Spear
It was the ideal senior day Saturday afternoon for Ryann Lucchesi. Her 90th game in a San Jose State cap.
The family made the drive down from San Rafael, Calif. filling the bleachers. Head coach Beth Harberts put a lei over her head containing vibrant ilima flowers that barely stayed on due to the jagged April California winds? Yes, jagged April California winds.
“I could barely even feel it during game time,” Lucchesi said.
The two raised their held hands high in front of the bleachers drawing a large applause generated from her prolific career. More than 50 goals scored and more than 80 exclusions drawn.
A radiating smile never left Lucchesi’s face until it was time to hop into the pool. Until it popped up again after scoring the first goal of the game against Indiana. A rebound off fellow senior Maiken Pardon popped directly in front of Lucchesi. Battling from her two-meter position, she gracefully laid a floater over Jasmine Higgs to ignite ‘Ryann!’ chants from the crowd.
While the chants from the crowd would stay, San Jose State’s (9-12, 0-5 MPSF) lead would fade and ultimately result in a 10-5 loss to Indiana (19-7, 1-4 MPSF). This would extend SJSU’s losing streak to five games and remain winless in conference play.
The Hoosiers centered on the two-meter area of the pool after Lucchesi’s goal and forced the Spartans to play from the perimeter. Any other attempts to throw the ball inside were met by deflections or double teams that troubled them.
“I think they did a good job with their scouting reports and matching us up,” Harberts said. “Overall, I think they did a better job adjusting to us.”
Part of that scouting report came to neutralizing the Spartans’ top goal scorers Sinia Plotz and Darcy Spark. Both are the only players with more than 30 goals and 40 points coming into the game. They were held to just one goal by Spark and no assists combined. Their long perimeter shots were either saved by Higgs or redirected before ever making it to the cage.
Yes they’re shots they can make but cannot be relied upon for a full 32 minutes.
Freshman goalie Grace Smith tied her season-high with 15 saves yet there was not enough offensive output to savor the performance. And it’s been a large part of the losing streak.
The Spartans have only been able to score three or more goals in a quarter five times during this stretch. Ironically, they had their most shots attempted Saturday and it resulted in the fewest amount of goals.
“I think some of our power plays, if we’re able to score on those and put some away, it’s going to add two or three goals a game,” Harberts said. SJSU power play went just 2-for-11 Saturday.
Ivanna Anderson-Villela, another senior, was one of the Spartans that scored on the power play while just 42 seconds remained on the clock. In fact, all senior day participants scored with Pardon also scoring in the second quarter. All coming to play and leave memorable impressions in their final games in San Jose.
“It’s special to see all three of them score,” Harberts said. “It’s empowering to see our young women develop within the system.”
After receiving a few elbows, legs pulled under the water and jabs thrown, Lucchesi’s day was done. Greeted by a family with flowers and hugs to pass around. She had just led the team in goals, steals and exclusions drawn in front of her loved ones. Moments occurred Saturday for Lucchesi that she’ll ‘never forget for the rest of her life’.
But a quick turn around awaits as they play at 1 p.m. Sunday at Cal Berkeley. Utilizing their speed will be imperative if they wants to break their losing streak before the MPSF Championships.
“As long as we’re pushing the counters and constantly swimming, I think we have a really good shot at holding Cal to a certain number of goals,” Lucchesi said.