High-Scoring Match favors Benedictine over Women's Lacrosse on Saturday
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas women's lacrosse team (2-5) broke double figures in the scoring column for the second time this season, but allowed a season-most 18 goals to Benedictine College (KS) on Saturday. The final score was 18-11.
Dallas opened with first goal of the game nearly a minute out of the first draw control. Senior Hayley Rodgers (Houston, Texas) netted the unassisted point. About a minute and a half later, the Ravens took advantage of being up a player and tied the contest 1-1.
With 26:54 remaining, sophomore Sarah Schmitz (Huntington, N.Y.) found the back of the cage to lift UD back in front 2-1. Rodgers dished one of her career-high four assists.
Over the course of 10 minutes to start the first stanza, the teams would combine for six goals. The final scoring play of that stretch was by UD's freshman Erika Keever (Fort Worth, Texas). The midfielder's second goal of the campaign tied the game after the home squad had trailed for the first time (3-2).
Schmitz propelled the Lady Crusaders back in front 4-3 about a minute later. She notched the first of two eventual Dallas hat tricks with 13:30 left in the half to give her team a 5-4 advantage. Junior Gwen Mohler was credited with the assist on the sequence.
After an exchange of goals, Benedictine posted consecutive scoring plays to regain the lead. The guests never trailed the rest of the match as Caitlyn Chickey scored with 6:30.
Dallas did force the fifth tie of the game a minute later as freshman Lexi Leiter tallied her second straight goal for the Navy and White. That left the scoreboard 7-7 at intermission.
BC's Chickey scored with 28:14 left in the second half to break the deadlock and sparked a 4-0 run for the guests over the next six minutes. Schmitz capitalized on her final goal with just over 20 minutes remaining to end the run. She assisted the next goal about a minute later to Leite as the rookie claimed the other UD hat trick. Benedictine had just scored in between the goals, so Leite kept the deficit at three (12-9).
That was as close as the Lady Crusaders could move the gap to, with Benedictine notching six of the final seven goals. This included a quartet of them under three minutes in the half.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Leite, Rodgers, and Schmitz formed a Dallas trio of players that tied team-highs with five points. This same trio also matched team-highs in shots with six apiece. The duo of Rodgers and Schmitz each set season-bests in that category.
- Leite shattered a career-high five goals, improving that mark by one since her performance in the season-opener against Ottawa University. Schmitz also set a personal best with her first ever hat trick.
- UD placed 17 of its 22 shots on cage. The Lady Crusaders picked up seven draw controls in both frames. Schmitz won four, while Rodgers and Keever earned three apiece.
- The home team was outdone 17-14 in groundballs, with freshman Priscila Saldivar (Mexico City, Mexico) picking up a season-high four.
- In the goalkeeper role, UD freshman Kyla Mangham (Oklahoma City, Okla.) nabbed a season-high 14 saves. Her counterpart, Suzy Dillingham had six against 17 shots faced.
- Benedictine went 11-for-15 on clear attempts.
- Darrow paced the offense with eight goals. All of her shots on target were successful and the game's leading individual scorer had 10 shots. Chickey was perfect shooting on cage with eight attempts. She secured the other hat trick.
- Mackenzie Roach and Julianne Smith also had multi-scoring games. The Ravens had 40 shots overall.
UP NEXT
Dallas wraps up the home portion of its season on Sunday versus Illinois Institute of Technology. Prior to the 11 a.m. start, the Lady Crusaders will recognize three players: Rodgers, Colby Madrigal (Laguna Niguel, Calif.), and Esther Gomez (Westford, Mass.) in honor of "Senior Day."