April 30, 2017
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt lacrosse team hit the field one last time to conclude the 2017 season Sunday afternoon and as much of the season had gone, it was a tight battle all afternoon long. The game was tied at 10 with 14:38 remaining when the game was moved indoors and it was Marquette that had the last run in them. The Golden Eagles finished the game on a 4-2 run to seal a tight 14-12 win.
Sunday afternoon’s contest wrapped up the careers for the six Commodore seniors. Eliza Clemens, Jill Doherty, Callahan Kent, MacKenzie Lange, Caroline Peters and Abby Quirk suited up in the black and gold one final time and although their career’s ended in a loss, they fought until the very end.
“This senior class is the epitome of what it means to have character, strength and class,” said head coach Cathy Swezey. “I think the world of them and what they have given to this program. They will be greatly missed and not easily replaced.”
The Dores raced out to a 3-0 lead at the start of the game with two of the goals coming from seniors MacKenzie Lange and Jill Doherty. The third goal was courtesy of Julie Blaze at the 24:34 mark of the half.
Marquette would answer with a run of its own. The Dores kept them scoreless for over nine minutes to start the game but finally broke through at the 20:37 mark with a goal from Charlotte McGuire. The Golden Eagles would score the next three goals to take a 4-3 lead with 15:19 left in the first half.
The Dores would finish the first half on a 3-2 run with all three goals coming from the senior class. Lange and Doherty each scored their second goals of the game while Caroline Peters scored the third and the game was tied at six going into halftime.
The Commodores and Golden Eagles would go back and forth to start the second half as the team’s exchanged the first six goals. Peters and Blaze both scored their second goals of the game while Kayla Peterson scored her first during the run. Blaze’s goal would tie the game at nine with 18:23 left in the game.
Doherty would score her third goal of the game to give the Commodores their first lead of the second half at the 17:32 mark. Marquette would answer with a goal from Allison Lane to even the game at 10 with 14:38 left.
Then the skies opened up on West End and forced the game into a weather delay. The delay last just over an hour as both teams moved into the Multipurpose Facility to close out the game.
Lange would score the first goal after the restart, her third of the game, to regain the lead for the Commodores at 11-10 with 8:55 left in the game.
The Golden Eagles would have one final run in them, as they would go on to score four goals in a six-minute span to give them a 14-11 lead with just over two minutes remaining. Doherty would score the final goal of the season for the Commodores off the assist from Peters with 11 seconds remaining.
Jill Doherty finished the game with a team-high four goals and career-high eight draw controls. She ends her Commodore career second all-time in assists (84), third in draw controls (163), and seventh in points (175).
MacKenzie Lange finished with her first career hat trick in her final game in a Commodore uniform. She started in 14 of 15 games in her final season and was one of seven Commodores to score double-digit goals (13) on the year.
Callahan Kent made a season-high 12 saves Sunday afternoon in the cage and scooped up three ground balls. Kent will finish her career fifth all-time in goals against average with 10.87.
Abby Quirk only had one shot attempt against Marquette but did not turn the ball over after playing a majority of the game. She started the last eight games of the season and finished with career highs in goals, assists and ground balls.
Eliza Clemens started all 15 games on the back line during her senior season. She ended the season with career highs in ground balls and caused turnovers.
Caroline Peters had two goals in her final game and it was her fifth multi-goal game of the season. She was also one of the seven Dores to score double-digit goals (16) on the year.
The Commodores finish the season with a 6-9 record and 3-6 in conference play with five of the losses coming by three goals or less. The Dores improved from last year’s finish of 5-11 and 1-6 league record and look to keep that improvement going heading into the next season.
