The 14th-ranked women’s lacrosse team continues a two-game winning streak after edging past Johns Hopkins in a sudden-victory overtime earlier in the week and then rolling past Ohio State at the Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex on Friday. Vanderbilt (9-4, 3-1 ALC) set the mood for the match beginning with a quick 3-0 run leading to an overwhelming 17-7 defeat over visiting Ohio State (7-6, 0-2 ALC).
Ohio State struggled to make their first goal, finally finding the back of the net after seven minutes into the match. With Ohio State’s confidence boosted, another quick score in less than 20 seconds left them trailing by only two goals.
The Commodores’ energy outpaced that of the Buckeyes in the first period, dramatically indicated when freshman Emily Franke squeezed the ball through the goal with two Ohio State defenders tight around her. Sophomore Carter Foote then continued to break through the Buckeye’s defense by scoring two quick goals within two minutes of each other. This concluded Vanderbilt’s 6-0 run, widening their lead to six goals by the half.
The second period went much like the first as Vanderbilt continued to be the aggressor. Junior Cara Giordano stepped up in the second period in which she scored all three of her goals and helped to maintain Vanderbilt’s possession arrow by picking up three ground balls. The remaining 10 minutes of the match was a scoring drought for both teams until freshman Katherine Denkler scored her third goal of the game with just under two minutes remaining in regulation. Denkler, along with Giordano and Foote, each left the game with hat-tricks.
Other key scorers for Vanderbilt included senior Ashley Paschall, sophomore Sarah Downing, senior Leslie Koch and sophomore Megan Gibson.
The best performance on the field undoubtedly came from senior Margie Curran. Curran had a record-breaking game for Vanderbilt, becoming the all-time point leader, scoring her 220th career goal with just over 17 minutes remaining in the second period. Sue Napolitano, who had 219 career goals in 2000, held the previous record for most career goals scored. Curran also acquired a game high of five assists, bumping her career total to 70 assists and surpassing Kendal Thrift’s previous record of 66 assists.
Vanderbilt goalkeeper Brooke Shinaberry, a senior, who was named ALC player of the week after her 11 saves in the victory over Johns Hopkins, stood firm in her ground while making a total of seven crucial saves against the Buckeyes. Ohio State goalie Kristen Gilwee had an outstanding game as well, mounting an impressive 15 saves out of a total 32 shots fired on target.
Up next, the Commodores will be on the road at Albany, N.Y. on April 13 and at Notre Dame on April 16. The regular season will conclude when the women’s lacrosse team will host the Duke Blue Devils on April 20 for Senior Day.
