Feb. 24, 2017
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt lacrosse team did not have much time to think too much about their last-second loss to Louisville. They are back on the road this weekend as they travel south to Greenville, S.C to face Furman Sunday morning at 11 am CT.
“The girls have responded really well since the Louisville game,” said head coach Cathy Swezey. “They came out with some intensity today and had a good attitude. We don’t want them to sit down low for too long, we want their attitude to pick right back up. I feel that we had a real up-beat practice and they are ready to go.”
Last time out, the Commodores faced off with No. 20 Louisville and the game was filled with runs from each team and ended up coming down to the final possession.
The ‘Dores started the game on a 4-1 run to gain an early lead. Louisville quickly answered out of a timeout and scored three goals to tie the game at four. The Commodores would have the last goal before halftime courtesy of Jill Doherty to give them a 5-4 lead at the break.
Early in the second half, it was all Louisville. They controlled the draws and ripped off five straight goals to build a 9-5 lead. The Commodores weren’t out of it yet as Kayla Peterson scored two goals to bring the game to 9-7. Julie Blaze stepped up next, scooping up her own rebound and burying it in the back of the net to make it 9-8 Cardinals. Louisville would score the next goal but Kayla Peterson and Blaze would score goals of their own to tie the game at 10 with two and a half minutes remaining.
The Cardinals would win the draw and after the team’s exchanged turnovers, Louisville would call a timeout in the attacking zone with 40.7 seconds left. Out of the timeout, Louisville would let the clock run until 10 seconds when Hannah Koloski made her run in the crease and would score the game-winning goal with 4.9 seconds remaining.
Furman comes into Sunday’s game holding a 1-1 record on the season. The Paladins lost in their opening game at Duke 20-5 but followed it up with a 16-2 win this past Wednesday against Presbyterian.
Senior Paige Gamble leads the Paladins offensively with a team-high four goals through two games. Midfielder and fellow senior Devon Horine leads the team in assists with three and ground balls with six while adding two goals on the year. Sophomore Sophie Brennan has two goals, two assists and a team-high five caused turnovers.
This will be the second-straight season the Commodores and Paladins will face off. Last year, Furman traveled to West End for the Commodores home opener. It was a back-and-forth game to start but the ‘Dores pulled away as they game went on and won 16-7. Kelly Chandler had a team-high five goals for the Commodores. Jill Doherty added two goals and dished out two assists and Kayla Peterson had a goal of her own against the Paladins. Margaret Fee won three draw controls and caused one turnover on the afternoon.
Sunday’s game will begin at 11 am CT and will be broadcast live on Youtube. The can use the link to the live stream here or at the top of the story. Stay up to date with all things Vanderbilt Lacrosse by following @VanderbiltLax on Twitter and Vanderbilt Women’s Lacrosse on Facebook.
