Feb. 24, 2018
Vanderbilt lacrosse took care of business in its home opener Saturday, defeating Furman by the final score of 19-7.
The Commodores (3-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) continued their early-season offensive onslaught against the Paladins (1-3, 0-0 SoCon), remaining among the national leaders with 19.67 goals per game.
Junior midfielder Julie Blaze, sophomore attacker Emily Mathewson and senior attacker Kayla Peterson led the Commodores with four goals each.
“The attacking chemistry right now is very, very strong,” Vanderbilt head coach Cathy Swezey said after the win.
Vanderbilt jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back, leading by double digits for the final 27 minutes of the game. The Dores outshot the Paladins 25-14 in the first half and 36-19 overall.
“I really feel like we fired on all cylinders,” Swezey said. “We controlled the draw, we had big plays on defense… I don’t think there’s a facet of the game that we’re disappointed about. I just felt like the team showed up to play, and they were great today.”
Nine Commodores scored in the game, including freshman attacker Griffin Gearhardt‘s first two collegiate goals.
“She’s got great fundamentals,” Swezey said on Gearhardt’s early performance. “She’s a great stick-skill kid, she’s a smart player and it was good to see her take really smart shots. I thought she put herself in a good position to score. I was proud of her.”
The Commodores continue their three-game homestand on Tuesday afternoon against Louisville. Opening draw is 3 p.m. at the VU Lacrosse Complex, and admission is free.
