April 22, 2018
Vanderbilt lacrosse dropped the highest-scoring game in program history on Sunday, losing 20-19 in overtime at UConn.
The Commodores (8-8, 3-5 BIG EAST) were eliminated from postseason contention as the Huskies (8-8, 4-4 BIG EAST) kept their conference tournament hopes alive.
Vanderbilt’s top two scorers reached personal milestones with five-goal games in the high-scoring affair. Senior attacker Kayla Peterson finished with five goals and an assist, running her season total to 56 goals and setting a new Vanderbilt record for the most goals in a single season, passing Sarah Downing’s mark of 55 set in 2009.
Sophomore attacker Emily Mathewson tied her season-high with seven points on five goals and two assists, putting her over the 100 collegiate point plateau in just under two full seasons.
The 39 total goals in the game surpassed the Commodores’ 22-16 loss to Duke on March 11, 2009 for the highest combined scoring total in program history, and also set the record for the highest all-time goal total in a BIG EAST regular season game.
The Commodores fell behind 2-0 in the first seven minutes, but stormed back with five straight goals to quickly take a 5-2 lead. The teams went into halftime tied 9-9 after a first half that saw the score tied on four separate occasions.
Peterson scored her fourth goal of the game and 55th of the season to put Vandy ahead 12-10 with 24:45 left in the second half, tying Downing’s program record.
After the Huskies cut the deficit to one at 12-11, Emily Mathewson scored back-to-back goals for her 100th and 101st collegiate points to put the Dores ahead, 14-11.
Peterson’s record-setting 56th goal put Vandy ahead 19-18 with 3:56 left, but the Huskies tied the game with 1:48 left to force overtime. Grace Nolan scored the game-winning goal one minute and 31 seconds into the extra period to give UConn the 20-19 win.
The Commodores posted their highest scoring output in a conference game this season and their second highest goal total of the year, getting 19 goals from six different multi-goal scorers.
On top of Peterson and Mathewson’s big performances, Hadley Brown earned her first hat trick of the season. Julie Blaze added two goals, two assists and a career-high seven draw controls. Gwyn Devin notched two goals and an assist while Melanie Becker scored two goals. Kayla Pruitt and Halle Regan each registered one assist. Regan’s assist was the freshman midfielder’s first as a Commodore, and her first point since February.
The Commodores return home for their season finale on Saturday afternoon vs. Denver, with opening draw scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Vanderbilt Soccer/Lacrosse Complex on Youth Day.
