Leite scored season-high 5 goals; Not enough against Saint Mary in Home Opener
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas women's lacrosse team had its home opener spoiled by University of Saint Mary (KS) on Saturday in a 12-8 setback. The Crusaders (0-3) trailed by two at halftime, but were unable to close the gap as Saint Mary (1-1) picked up its first win of the campaign.
NOTABLE STATISTICS
(Individual Notes)
- Lexi Leite (Houston, Texas) led the team in scoring with a season-high five goals. She shot 50 percent (7-14) on cage.
- Erika Keever (Fort Worth, Texas) netted a pair of goals for 2nd multiple scoring effort this year. She also won four draw controls, which tied a game-high.
- Patty Hahn (Plano, Texas) was the other player to win four draws and also added three groundballs.
- Frances Davis (Heber City, Utah) picked up four groundballs to lead Dallas.
- Lizz Winkler (St. Charles, Ill.) made 10 saves in a complete game effort.
- Her counterpart for the Spires nabbed nine saves.
- Karissa Procter anchored the offense for the guests with four goals and an assist for five points. Kayla DuBlois, Hannah Boyd, and Jessie Hushaw each netted a pair of scoring results.
(Team Notes)
- The Crusaders outshot their foe 29-25. That mark was a season-most and the first time UD outshot its opponent on the early season.
- Dallas won 14 draw controls in the match, tallying seven per half.
- Squads were even in groundballs with 17.
- Both teams attempted five free position shots, but the Spires made three compared to UD's one success.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Crusaders drew an early advantage as Leite found the back of the cage just past three minutes into the contest. The team's leading scorer (11 goals) has achieved a hat trick in every match so far.
Saint Mary countered eight minutes later with an equalizer from Hannah Boyd. The match didn't remain tied long as the road team got an eventual game winner from Julia Harvey less than 30 seconds later. Kristina Purinton won the draw to follow the next possession out of tying netter and helped advance the ball to Harvey's scoring play at 18:15. The Spires scored five straight after UD's first goal to build a 5-1 edge.
Claire Gagliano (Peachtree City, Ga.) was another Crusader to keep her scoring streak alive at three with an unassisted goal with 11:50 in the first half to stop the run. After Saint Mary posted a man-up goal, the Crusaders offense found two quick goals from Keever and Leite to reduce the margin to 6-4 and five minutes left. Each leading scorer for the teams traded goals to make it 7-5 at the break.
Boyd got the first goal for the visitors just past five minutes into the next stanza. Leite scored two-of-three UD goals in the frame and did so at 19:42 for the Navy and White's first points of that span. Gwen Mohler (San Francisco, Calif.) dished an assist on that sequence. That goal reduced the deficit back to a pair (8-6), but that was as close as the game got as Saint Mary earned the next three goals. Keever and Leite made later goals, but Hushaw completed a pass from Kathleen Miller to seal the final score with 2:11 remaining.
UP NEXT
Dallas is back on the field tomorrow versus Southwestern University at 1 p.m.