The St. Mary’s College of Maryland women’s lacrosse team secured an impressive 16-8 victory over the University of Lynchburg on Friday night, improving their record to 2-0 in the 2023 campaign. The Seahawks faced an early challenge, going down 4-0 within the first 10 minutes of the game. However, they bounced back with two goals in a span of just over a minute, narrowing the gap to 4-2. Lynchburg added another goal just before halftime to take a 5-2 lead going into the second quarter.
St. Mary’s fought back in the second quarter, winning the frame 4-1, with sophomore attacker Hailey Betch scoring a woman-up goal with just under two minutes remaining in the half. This sent the two teams into halftime with the score tied at 6-6.
Although the Hornets netted two of the first three goals in the third period, the Seahawks began to distance themselves from the hosts with three unanswered goals in the final five minutes of the quarter. The visitors then sealed the game with a six-goal fourth quarter, running up a nine-goal run, while the defense held Lynchburg scoreless in the final 15 minutes.
The Seahawks proved dominant throughout the game, outshooting Lynchburg 38-24 and controlling the ball in the circle, winning 16 of 28 draw controls. St. Mary’s also capitalized on four of their six free position shots, while Lynchburg failed to capitalize on their six attempts, notching just one goal.
Sophomore midfielder Colin Horton led St. Mary’s with four goals, while Betch contributed three goals and two assists. Junior attacker Bella Dunigan won four draws, and junior defender Rachael Freeman recorded four ground balls and a caused turnover. Junior goalie Maddie Clemmer made eight saves and two ground balls.
Lynchburg’s Sydney Dumas and Libby Kennedy led their team with two goals each, but the Hornets ultimately fell to 0-2 in the young campaign, with goalie Julia Broughton making seven saves in the loss.
Next up for St. Mary’s is a game against Roanoke on February 26th in Salem, Virginia. The Seahawks will look to continue their winning streak as they face off against the Roanoke Maroons.