Eight different players scored goals on offense, and Meredith University was limited to three goals until the final minutes, as the University of Mary Washington women's lacrosse team defeated the Avenging Angels, 11-5, in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament in a game played at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Va. The Eagles improve to 15-5 on the season, and will face W&L on Sunday at 1 p.m. in second round action.
UMW opened the scoring with senior Sabrina Elliott, who scored unassisted with 24:56 left in the first half. Just 45 seconds later, senior Kelsey Vincent scored on an assist from classmate Emily Mott, as the Eagles grabbed a 2-0 advantage.
After the Angels cut the deficit to 2-1 one minute later, the Eagles grabbed all the momentum with five straight scores to close the frame. Senior Kate Smucker scored on a free position shot with 20:08 on the clock. Junior Mackenzie Maguire then netted her 42nd goal of the season at 19:22, and junior Holly Hudson followed at 15:14.
Maguire scored her second goal of the day with 6:16 to go, and Smucker added her second with 5:07 left, giving UMW a 7-1 lead at halftime.
Meredith opened the second half by scoring a pair of goals around an Elliott score with 23:01 remaining. UMW went on to score three straight to put the game out of reach. Savannah Boyd scored on a Kristen Kunaniec assist with 11:03 remaining, and Katherine Lambert scored on a Hope Lockwood assist with 7:01 to go.
Kunaniec scored on a Lambert assist with 2:51 on the clock, before Meredith scored twice late to cap the scoring at 11-5.
UMW led in shots, 20-15, and in draw controls, 10-8. Meredith held a 16-14 edge in ground balls. UMW goalie Hanna Ashby recorded five saves without allowing a score, and Jacquelyn Albanese and Kelsey Welsh followed in relief without a save in the waning minutes.
The Eagles will face Washington & Lee on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The Eagles dropped a 7-6 decision to the Generals in the second game of the regular season in a game played at UMW.