St. Mary’s College of Maryland women’s lacrosse team faced off against No. 5 Salisbury University on Wednesday, April 19th at Jamie L. Roberts Stadium. Despite a strong start, St. Mary’s ultimately fell short in a 17-5 loss to Salisbury.
The Seahawks made an impressive start to the game, taking a 1-0 lead within the first minute of play as junior attacker Bella Dunigan finished off a pass from sophomore midfielder Colin Horton. However, Salisbury quickly responded with back-to-back goals from Riley Hartman and Mary Hanzsche to take their first lead of the game at 2-1 with 7:45 remaining in the first quarter.
St. Mary’s didn’t back down, with senior captain Lily Davison and Horton netting a pair of unassisted goals to send the Seahawks into the second quarter with a 3-2 advantage. However, Salisbury then went on a 10-0 run, establishing a nine-goal cushion with 10:01 remaining in the third frame.
St. Mary’s managed to halt Salisbury’s run with a player-up goal from sophomore attacker Hailey Betch, assisted by Horton, at 3:27. However, Salisbury continued to dominate, tacking on two more goals to end the third quarter with a running clock established for the final 15:11 of the game. The Sea Gulls outscored St. Mary’s 3-1 in the final period, with Dunigan notching the Seahawks’ final goal of the game with 9:26 to go off an assist from Davison.
Salisbury outshot St. Mary’s 39-20 and controlled the draw circle by a 17-8 margin. The Sea Gulls also edged St. Mary’s 16-15 in ground balls while posting a +4 turnover margin. Salisbury scored 12 goals between the second and third quarters on 24 shots, while holding St. Mary’s to just one goal on 10 shots during the same period.
Despite the loss, several St. Mary’s players put up notable performances. Horton finished with a team-best three points on a goal and a career-tying two assists, as well as a ground ball and a draw control. Dunigan scored a team-high two goals and picked up a loose ball. Junior defender Rachael Freeman scooped up a game- and season-best six ground balls while adding a caused turnover and a draw control. Junior goalie Maddie Clemmer made 11 stops, adding a ground ball and a caused turnover to her impressive performance.
For Salisbury, Emma Skoglund tallied a game-high six points on a goal and five assists, while Leah Vilov scored four times. With this win, Salisbury extends their winning streak over St. Mary’s to 28 games, with the Seahawks’ last win over SU coming on March 6, 2002.
Up next for the Seahawks, they will face off against Mount Aloysius (3-6, 2-1 UEC) at home on April 22 at 1:00 p.m., which will also serve as Senior Day.