ELON, N.C. – The Elon women’s lacrosse team opened its 2016 season in strong fashion with an 11-7 win over visiting San Diego State tonight, Feb. 12, at Rudd Field. The Phoenix trailed by two in the first half, rallying to lead 8-6 at the half and claimed a 3-1 advantage in the second frame for the four-goal differential.
The Phoenix (1-0) outshot the Aztecs (0-1), 30-12, on the night, claimed a 24-15 advantage in ground balls and won 14 draws.
Sloane Kessler tallied a game-high three goals and added one assist for a game-high four points and added three ground balls. Stephanie Asher recorded two goals and won three draws, while newcomer Shelby Scanlin also added two scores for the Phoenix. Anna Vitton, Abby Godfrey, Maeve Cowley and Nicole Sinacori all contributed one score for the maroon and gold on the night.
Rookie defender Shannon Horan won a game-high four draws, while also causing two turnovers and picking up two ground balls. Rachel Ramirez claimed the win between the posts after four saves and had a game-high five ground balls.
Highlights
After Asher scored the first goal of the season in the first 30 seconds, SDSU saw two goals from Alexa Comfort before Sloane Kessler netted a pair of scores to make it a 3-2 Elon advantage by the 18:08 mark.
The Aztecs scored three straight to take a 5-3 lead with 10:20 left in the half. Godfrey answered less than a minute later to spark a 5-0 run for the maroon and gold to move in front 8-5. The run was capped by a Sinacori goal with just over three minutes remaining after she picked the ball up off an SDSU turnover. The Aztecs added another score to make it an 8-6 game at the break.
The Phoenix wasted no time in the second half as Horan won the opening draw that allowed Kessler to get the ball to Vitton for a goal at the 29:33 mark. Scanlin added her second score over 16 minutes later with 13:18 on the clock to make it a 10-6 advantage.
Kessler netted her third goal of the night off a free-position shot for a five-point Elon edge, 11-6, with just over 12 minutes left to play. The Aztecs added its only goal of the half with 8:56 on the clock. The Phoenix defense kept SDSU from getting a shot off the remainder of the game as the maroon and gold moved on the victory.
Notes
Both teams finished 2-of-4 in free-position shots…This marked the first meeting between the two programs with Elon now leading, 1-0…Elon finished 10-of-13 in clear attempts, while SDSU went 11-of-17…The Aztecs’ Katie Merrit took the loss and had a game-high seven saves…SDSU’s Katrina Reeves played the entire second half in goal and tallied five saves.
Next Up
Elon hosts Longwood in its next game on Sunday, Feb. 14, at 2 p.m. at Rudd Field.