Crusaders Early Start Not Enough to Keep Pace with Oglethorpe's Big 2nd Half
WEST POINT, Ga. – The University of Dallas women's lacrosse team finished its weekend road trip with a 20-12 setback to Oglethorpe University on the campus of Point University. It was a high-scoring match, with the Crusaders (2-3) responding to a 2-0 deficit with the next seven goals to take their largest lead on the day.
Lexi Leite (Houston, Texas) was responsible for the first three to notch a hat trick. Erika Keever (Fort Worth, Texas), who matched Leite with a five goals in the game for a team-high, found the back of the net on the fourth and sixth goals. Leite achieved all her goals during that scoring run for UD.
The Stormy Petrels (2-1) responded with the next three goals to narrow the gap to a pair with 21 minutes.
13 combined goals came in the first 10 minutes of the game with Keever tallying the final one for UD in the half. Dallas led 8-5, but the opposition knotted the game heading into break.
Caroline Chamberlain scored at 15:44 before nine scoreless minutes passed. Samantha Chap (6:47) and Audrey Mahoney (4:37) leveled the score.
Oglethorpe pressed forward with the second half momentum by firing 12 goals. This included the first quartet of goals in the frame with three in a row by Chap. She had four during that 7-0 scoring swing between the halves. Keever rounded out her scoring day with two goals less than a minute apart about midway through. That cut the deficit to 12-10, but the Stormy Petrels didn't let the score get any closer by putting in eight of the next nine goals.
Dalayna Marji (Montrose, Calif.) notched her first collegiate goals with the last two for Dallas.
The Crusaders placed 16 of their 21 shots on cage but were outdone by 40 attempts and 34 shots on cage by Oglethorpe. Ground balls slightly favored the Stormy Petrels 34-31. Dallas committed 29 turnovers compared to 17 by its opponent. Particularly affecting this line was the 14 to five difference in the second stanza. Dallas had 33 successful clears in 46 attempts, while the Stormy Petrels converted on 39-for-44. Five of UD's seven free positions counted towards the team's scoring results.
Dallas dominated on the draw controls with a season-high 24 and 12 coming each half. Alex Parkey (Henrietta, Texas) notched a school record and personal-best 22 of them. Mason Cosgrove (Las Cruces, N.M.) gathered 10 ground balls to lead all players. Lizz Winkler (St. Charles, Ill.) made 14 saves against 34 shots faced in 60 minutes.
The previous record holder for draw controls in a single-game was Christine McFarland with 12 against Notre Dame of Maryland on April 17, 2011.
Chap led all scorers with seven goals – finding the back of the cage on all seven shots on goal. Madison Goss followed with six goals, while Clarissa Hopkins added a hat trick with three goals. Zoe Geiger had four saves against 16 shots faced, but the Crusaders offense could not fire off enough attempts to keep pace.
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Dallas is back home for March, where it plays five-of-six contests. On March 2 and 3 the Crusaders will host Southwestern University and N.C. Wesleyan.