Crusaders capture 1st Win of 2017 by Defeating Millsaps Saturday
IRVING, Texas – It was a well-balanced scoring effort on Saturday that gave the University of Dallas women's lacrosse team its first victory of the 2017 season and first of Head Coach Destinee Johnson's career. The Crusaders (1-4) took a 7-2 lead into halftime and were able to hold onto an 11-7 final over Millsaps College (0-5).
NOTABLE STATISTICS
(Individual Notes)
- Lexi Leite (Houston, Texas) kept her scoring streak rolling along at five games with her 4th hat trick on the year. Leite posted a trio of goals (team-high) and dished an assist.
- Erika Keever (Fort Worth, Texas) posted a pair of goals for the 4th time this season giving her 8 overall.
- Julia Shinkle (Ewing, N.J.) posted a multiple goal game for second time this season (1st was season opener at Puget Sound). Shinkle matched a season-best three groundballs from that contest too.
- Finally, Gwen Mohler (San Francisco, Calif.) completed the trio of Crusaders with two goals by notching her first one in her career.
- Megan Graziose (Temecula, Calif.) tallied a team-high four groundballs.
- Lizz Winkler (St. Charles, Ill.) was credited with her first goalkeeper win and recorded 15 saves, which is one shy of personal best at Puget Sound. The keeper also allowed a season-low in goals.
- Millsaps was led by Alyssa Smith with five goals and nine shots (8 on cage). She picked up seven groundballs, won four draw controls, and forced six of the team's eight caused turnovers.
- Alicia Price made three saves against 14 shots faced in between the pipes for the Majors.
(Team Notes)
- Dallas took advantage of free positions, firing five goals out of eight chances in the match. Its counterpart made four, but had 17 chances.
- The Majors held a nine-shot difference (29-20) including 19-7 in the second half. They also won 13 draw controls (9 in 2nd) compared to UD's seven. Dallas only had one in the final stanza.
- The Crusaders slightly edged in groundballs 19-18. They turned the ball over 34 times (17 each frame) compared to 28 by the Millsaps.
- 24 successful clears was a season best for Dallas.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The visitors started out quickly getting the early loose balls and eventually took the first score on a Smith goal a little past a minute into action. It was Millsaps' lone time to lead as the Crusaders rattled off seven unanswered throughout the rest of the half.
It took six minutes before Leite scored to keep her streak moving through all contests on free position shot. That equaled the scoreboard. Dallas made full use of the free position attempts and tallied its first quartet of goals from those types of opportunities. Shinkle, Claire Gagliano (Peachtree, Ga.), and Keever found the back of the cage, respectively, over most of the duration of the half.
Up 4-1 with 9:21 left, Leite had the first non-free position goal 24 seconds later after Eliza Knapp (St. Paul, Minn.) won the draw. Mohler joined the scoring column and Frances Davis (Heber City, Utah) garnered her first collegiate goal and points to open UD's widest margin of leading in the game. Millsaps' Bria Johnson, who was second on the team with eight shots, halted the home team's run with a free position goal with 24 ticks left on the clock.
After four and a half minutes of no scoring to begin the last 30 minutes, Mohler popped her second goal on a free position to stretch the lead back to six. Smith responded with a free position goal of her own at 21:17. The lone Crusader assist from Leite came on the next goal as her pass from the backside of the cage connected with Shinkle to make it 9-3.
With about 11 minutes remaining in regulation, Smith and Cherilyn Cabanero went back-to-back on scoring plays two nip the deficit to four (9-5) with barely above two minutes gone by. UD's top two season scorers, Leite and Keever, pounded goals to secure the eventual first triumph.
UP NEXT
Dallas continues a season-long, five-game homestand this week. On March 8, University of Northwestern (MN) visits for a 2 p.m. start. That game time was rescheduled to an earlier time. The lengthy stretch at the friendly confines ends Mar. 10 versus Beloit College at 3:30 p.m.