April 7, 2013
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Vanderbilt lacrosse team found itself in a 5-0 deficit midway through the first half and was unable to turn the tables, falling 19-4 at Ohio State Sunday in American Lacrosse Conference action.
Vanderbilt first got on the board in the 19th minute when senior Courtney Kirk found classmate Olivia Goodman to cut the OSU lead to 5-1. But the Commodores were held scoreless for the remainder of the opening stanza as Ohio State’s lead ballooned to 10-1 at the break. Vanderbilt turned the ball over 12 times in the first 30 minutes.
“Unfortunately, sometimes it comes down to basics and our fundamentals were really off today,” VU Head Coach Cathy Swezey said. “Ohio State had a great day and they deserve a lot of credit for how they performed.”
Ohio State led 13-1 with 20 minutes remaining before freshman Mallory Schonk netted an unassisted goal in the 41st minute. The Commodores would score twice more in the second half. Freshman Emma Dagres scored off of Kirk’s second assist from the game before Schonk scored her second unassisted goal of the day.
Schonk is tied for second on the team in goals scored this season with 22. Vanderbilt’s freshmen class–which netted three of the team’s four goals on Sunday–has scored 48 percent of the Commodores’ goals this season (71 of 148). Kirk is part of the senior class that is responsible for 56 percent of the team’s assists this year (40 of 71).
Junior Alyssa Dunlap led the Commodore defense with two caused turnovers. Junior Abby Wheeler was credited with three ground balls on the day. Senior Chelsea Pasfield made five saves in 50 minutes before giving way to sophomore Maddie Kratz, who stopped two shots in 10 minutes.
The Buckeyes held VU senior Carly Linthicum without a point for the first game this season. Linthicum leads the Commodores with 46 goals this season and ranks in the nation’s top five in scoring.
Five Buckeyes scored multiple goals on Sunday, led by five tallies for reserve Kelsea Ayers. Six draw controls from Katie Chase helped OSU lead that category, 13-12, on the day.
The Commodores return to Nashville to close the 2013 regular season with a pair of home matches against Florida and North Carolina. The ‘Dores will welcome the Gators to Music City next Sunday, April 14, before playing host to the Tar Heels on Saturday, April 20, for Vanderbilt’s 2013 Senior Day.
