MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Sophomore attacker Chelsea Thompson scored six goals and had two assists to lead the High Point University women’s lacrosse team to an 18-9 win over Robert Morris on Saturday afternoon in Moon Township, Pa. Junior goalie Anna Wallingford made 14 saves in the win.
“I’m proud of our teams performance today, everyone contributed,” said HPU head coach Lyndsey Boswell. “I thought we did a great job of coming out strong and executing in the first part of the game. It’s nice to get a win on the road, hopefully that will give us momentum going into the next few games at home. Anna Wallingford was outstanding in the cage for us, she has personal goals and she really did a nice job reaching those goals today.”
Thompson’s six goals and eight points were both season highs for any High Point player this season. Sophomore Mackenzie Carroll scored three goals with an assist and junior Grace Gaeng scored two goals and had three draw controls. Sophomore Cissy Woodyard led High Point defenders with four ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers.
For Wallingford, the win was her third of the season and her 14 saves tied a season high. She also grabbed three ground balls. The Panthers improved to 4-2 on the season while Robert Morris dropped to 1-5.
Emma Baukhages led the Colonels with a hat trick plus an assist along with three ground balls and three draw controls. Colleen O’Donnell tallied nine ground balls and four caused turnovers in the game.
With the score tied at 2-2 after five minutes, Gaeng scored two goals in a row – the second on a free-position shot – to give High Point the lead the rest of the way. Robert Morris’s Kristin Yoviene scored with 10:07 left in the first half to get the Colonels within two goals (6-4) before the Panthers went off for 10 goals in a row to break it open.
Senior attacker Alexis Goldman started HPU’s 10-goal run with an unassisted score with 9:44 left in the first half. The Panthers led 10-4 at the break and, coming out of halftime, Christie Dougherty scored on a free-position shot 46 seconds in. Thompson then scored four straight goals in a span of 6:14, the first two assisted by Sara Kuhlman. Carroll finished the run with an unassisted goal that made it 16-4 with 19:48 left on the clock.
Baukhages scored two goals at 17:00 and 16:42 and Robert Morris scored five of the last seven goals of the game, but the closest the Colonels could get was within eight goals in the closing minutes.
The Panthers have a week off before hosting George Mason on Saturday, March 17, at Vert Stadium. It will be the first meeting between High Point and George Mason.