April 4, 2009
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A total of 10 Commodores scored goals as the 11th-ranked Vanderbilt women’s lacrosse team thumped American Lacrosse Conference rival Johns Hopkins, 18-8, Saturday at the VU Lacrosse Complex.
Vanderbilt (7-3, 2-1 ALC) won by double-figures for the third straight game, and notched its fifth consecutive victory overall since a March 11 loss at No. 3 Duke. The Commodores have won four of their last five matchups against the Blue Jays (4-8, 0-2 ALC) over the past three seasons.
Junior Sarah Downing led all scorers with four goals and two assists, while classmate Carter Foote also contributed a hat-trick to the Commodores’ cause. Freshman goalkeeper Natalie Wills made 12 saves to earn her seventh victory of the season against only one loss.
The Commodores came out of the gate firing, scoring goals from senior Cara Giordano, Foote and Downing to lead 3-0 in the first two minutes. Vanderbilt would score the game’s first seven goals and lead by no fewer than five the rest of the way.
Vanderbilt was dominant in the center circle, controlling 18 of 27 draws for the game. Freshman Ally Carey had a game-high four draw controls to go with two goals and two assists.
Also scoring for the Commodores were juniors Anastasia Adam, Laura Keenan and Allie Frank, sophomore Katherine Denkler and Emily Franke, and freshman Alex Priddy.
Reserve Rachel Ballatori was the only player to score multiple goals for Hopkins. JHU goalkeeper Lizzie O’Ferrall made 10 saves off the bench in the second half.
Vanderbilt will close out its regular season with three of four games on the road. The Commodores travel to New Hampshire this week for a game on April 8 before heading to Columbus, Ohio, to face league rival Ohio State on April 12. Vanderbilt will then welcome Notre Dame to Nashville for Senior Day on April 15.
VU’s regular season wraps up at Cornell on April 21. The American Lacrosse Conference Tournament will be hosted by Penn State in University Park, Pa., May 2-4.
