• Junior Darla Poulin scored two goals and added an assist to lead HPU in scoring
• Junior Erica Perrotta tallied two goals for the second-consecutive game
• Sophomore Samantha Herman had five ground balls, five caused turnovers and three draw controls
ELON, N.C.—The High Point University women’s lacrosse team fell at Elon, 14-7, Sunday afternoon (Feb. 19) at Rudd Field in Elon, N.C.
“I thought our execution was poor today,” High Point head coach Lyndsey Boswell said. “We had a good game plan going in and I felt that we had a slow start. I think without the slow start you see stats that are pretty equal. We grinded when we when we needed to and we were gritty and created possessions for ourselves on offense, we just couldn’t execute our shots. Between giving up some soft goals early and not finishing out shots, that was the difference in the game.”
The two teams were nearly even at the draw, with Elon picking up 12 draw controls to High Point’s 11. The Purple & White had 32 shots compared to Elon’s 31, while the Phoenix had 19 turnovers to HPU’s 15.
The Phoenix (4-0) jumped out to a 5-0 lead before the Panthers (0-2) scored three of the next four goals. Senior Samantha Brown opened the HPU scoring with her third of the season, while junior Darla Poulin added her second of the year off a fee from junior Erin Ilchuk. After an Elon goal, sophomore Emory Gaeng notched her first of the season to pull HPU within three at 6-3 with 8:02 left in the half.
Elon scored the last three goals of the first frame and first two goals of the second. Junior Erica Perrotta added a pair of unassisted goals in the second half to bring her tally to four for the season. Poulin added her second of the day with 7:14 and junior Brooke Stevens scored on a breakaway off a pass from Poulin with 1:25 to go to conclude the HPU scoring.
Sophomore Samantha Herman had five ground balls, five caused turnovers and three draw controls, while Sophomore Meredith Chapman had a team-high four draw controls.
Elon’s Rachel Ramirez made 15 saves to improve to 4-0, while sophomore Molly Andrews (8) and freshman Jill Rall (2) combined for 10 saves. Andrews fell to 0-2 on the season in net.
The Panthers return to action Saturday (Feb. 25) at James Madison. First draw in Harrisonburg, Va., is set for 1 p.m.
Phoenix Ties Program’s Best Start with 14-7 Win Over High Point
ELON, N.C. – Elon University women’s lacrosse, now 4-0 on the 2017 season, earned a 14-7 win over High Point on Sunday, Feb. 19, at Rudd Field to tie its best-ever start to a campaign.
The 4-0 mark matches Elon’s record to open the 2016 season when it beat San Diego State, Longwood, Coastal Carolina and No. 10 Duke. During Elon’s run this season, it has defeated three Big South opponents in Campbell, Winthrop and High Point and No. 13 Virginia of the ACC.
Stephanie Asher and Anna Vitton lead the Phoenix with four goals apiece on the afternoon while Asher also took five draw controls. In four games thus far, Asher has now picked up at least three draw controls in three of the outings and has scored at least three goals each time out. Abby Godfrey also notched three goals with two draw controls and two ground balls. Jacie Cooper entered the game with four-career ground balls, but she grabbed four more Sunday against the Panthers to lead the Phoenix in the category. In the cage, Rachel Ramirez tied her career high with 15 saves.
High Point’s Darla Poulin and Erica Perrotta both scored two goals to lead the Panthers. With High Point’s two leading scorers only scoring twice, Elon has yet to allow a player on an opposing team score more than two goals in any of the four games to date. Samantha Herman also added a game-high five ground balls, five caused turnovers and three draw controls.
The Rundown
Elon jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening 13:48 of the game with two goals from Asher and one apiece from Godfrey, Vitton and Nicole Sinacori. With the quick start, Elon has now twice scored at least five goals in a game at home before the opponent could get on the scoreboard with Campbell falling down 7-0 in the season-opener before getting on the scoreboard.
Though High Point scored three of the next four goals after Elon took the 5-0 lead, the Phoenix went on another 5-0 run to take the lead from 6-3 with 8:02 to play in the first half to 11-3 with 22:01 to go in the game.
In the final 20 minutes, the two teams traded goals but Asher put the icing on the cake when she scored her 99th career goal with 18 seconds to go to make it 14-7. With one more goal, Asher will become the first Phoenix in program history to reach the 100-career goal mark.
Up Next
Elon will look to continue its excellent start to the season when it hosts No. 8 Notre Dame on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 6 p.m. at Rudd Field. The Phoenix and Fighting Irish have never met before. Notre Dame is 4-1 with four-straight wins over Liberty, Detroit, Marquette and Michigan.