Feb. 18, 2018
The Game: Vanderbilt Lacrosse at Fresno State
The Time: Monday, February 19 at 4 p.m. CT
The Place: Fresno State Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium, Fresno, CA
The Broadcast: Live online broadcast at www.Flosports.tv
Vanderbilt lacrosse hit the road last Sunday for their season-opener, earning an 18-14 win over Kennesaw State. The Commodores’ second game of the season will take them further from home, as Vanderbilt visits Fresno State on Monday afternoon at 4 p.m.
The Commodores (1-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) head into this matchup with the Bulldogs (1-1, 0-0 MPSF) looking to start 2-0 for the third time in the past four years.
“The more winning you do early, the better it is for the rest of your season,” Vanderbilt head coach Cathy Swezey said. “Anytime you can get your team on a winning track and get to the point where your team expects to win versus hoping to win, it’s an important thing.”
Kayla Peterson scored five goals and Julie Blaze had six points in Vanderbilt’s win over Kennesaw State last Sunday. The Commodores did not trail in the game, and Blaze was named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week for the first time in her career.
“Julie’s just a prolific scorer,” Swezey said. “She’s one of the better shooters on our team and she’s a midfielder. I think that really allows her to accomplish a lot. If you watch her, you can see that she has great speed. The thing you don’t know from watching is how much effort and work she puts in to being the player she is.”
Vanderbilt has not yet named a starting goalkeeper for Monday’s game. Redshirt sophomore Lily Argyle played all 60 minutes in goal against Kennesaw, making four saves.
The Commodores controlled the majority of possession and outshot the Owls in the game, 41-26, but still needed a string of late goals to pull away for the win. In response, Vanderbilt’s coaching staff stressed defensive responsibility this week.
“The primary focus for this week of practice was our defensive transition,” Swezey said. “Just making sure our midfielders get to the proper spaces and pick up their man.”
Opening draw is at 4 p.m. CT on President’s Day from Fresno. The game will be broadcast online at FloSports.tv.
Series History
This is the first meeting between Vanderbilt and Fresno State in lacrosse, and is Vanderbilt’s ninth-ever game in California. The Commodores are 4-4 all-time in the Golden State, winning their only visit to Cal-Berkeley in 2006 and posting a 3-4 record in seven games at Stanford (2001, ’04, ’06, ’10, ’12, ’14, and ’16).
Scouting the Bulldogs
Fresno State enters the weekend with a 1-1 overall record. The Bulldogs played two games in Philadelphia on opening weekend, defeating La Salle 8-6 on Friday and falling to Binghamton in a neutral site game on Sunday, 14-8. Fresno State’s home opener is scheduled for Friday afternoon against Mercer. Sarah Bloise leads the Bulldogs with six goals through two games, and Ryleigh Bone is second on the team with four goals. Head coach Jessica Giglio is in her eighth season. The program began Division I play in 2009.
Blaze Named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week
On Tuesday, junior midfielder Julie Blaze was named the BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week for her Week 1 performance. Blaze scored six points (four goals, two assists) in Vanderbilt’s 18-14 win over Kennesaw State on Sunday, February 18. She filled up the stat sheet by claiming four draw controls and three ground balls in the tight road win. This was Blaze’s first career Midfielder of the Week award, adding to her honors of 2018 Preseason All-BIG EAST, 2017 first-team All-BIG EAST and one BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll in week one of the 2017 season.
Peterson’s Big Day
Senior attacker Kayla Peterson scored five goals against Kennesaw State, finishing just one goal below her career-high of six goals, coming on February 26, 2017 in an 18-8 win at Furman. Four of Peterson’s five goals came in the first half, including three in the first 11 minutes as the Commodores jumped out to a 6-1 lead that they would never relinquish. Her lone second half goal put the game out of reach with 1:25 remaining. Peterson also posted a game-high nine shots and six draw controls in the win.
Impact Freshmen
Four Commodore freshmen made their collegiate debuts in last Sunday’s win, as attackers Gabrielle Fornia and Griffin Gearhardt saw their first action in a Vanderbilt uniform along with midfielders Sophie Furlong and Melissa Hawkins. Furlong scored her first collegiate goal in the first half, and took three shots. Fellow freshman Fornia assisted on Furlong’s goal and registered three assists and six shots in her first college game. Hawkins recorded three ground balls and three caused turnovers, while Gearhardt took one shot.
Preseason Pick
The Big East coaches picked Vanderbilt to finish sixth in the conference’s preseason poll, tied with Marquette for the sixth spot in the 10-team league. Midfielder Julie Blaze was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST team.
BIG EAST Women’s Lacrosse Preseason Coaches’ Poll:
1. Florida (9 first place votes)
2. Denver (1)
3. Georgetown
4. Temple
5. Connecticut
t-6. Vanderbilt
t-6. Marquette
8. Villanova
9. Cincinnati
10. Butler
Vanderbilt Lacrosse Joining American Athletic Conference in 2019
The Vanderbilt lacrosse program announced in October that it will join the American Athletic Conference as an affiliate member for the league’s inaugural season of women’s lacrosse in 2019. Current BIG EAST members Cincinnati, Connecticut, Florida and Temple will make the move with Vanderbilt, joining East Carolinaâ€â€currently a D-1 independentâ€â€to comprise the six team league.
Vanderbilt Lacrosse historic conference affiliation:
2019-: American Athletic Conference
2015-2018 (4 seasons): Big East Conference
2002-2014 (13 seasons): American Lacrosse Conference (founding member)
1996-2001 (6 seasons): No conference affiliation
Coach Cathy Swezey
Head coach Cathy Swezey is in her 21st season leading the Commodores. Swezey was hired as Vanderbilt’s second-ever women’s lacrosse head coach before the 1998 season. Her overall record as Vanderbilt’s head coach is 156-171, including six NCAA Tournament appearances and a national semifinals berth in 2004.
Set the Field A-Blaze
Junior Julie Blaze led Vanderbilt with 33 goals as a sophomore in 2017, becoming the first sophomore to lead the Commodores in goals since April Tellam, who scored 42 goals in 1999. Blaze also finished the year second on the team in points (38), fourth in caused turnovers (12) and draw controls (22) and fifth in ground balls (18), earning first-team All-BIG EAST honors.
Back in Black (And Gold)
The 2018 Commodores return 65% of the team’s goal scoring from last season, with just 62 out of 177 goals graduating from the program.
2017 Vanderbilt Goal Leaders (BOLD = Returning)
1. Julie Blaze, 33 goals
2. Jill Doherty, 31 goals
3. Kayla Peterson, 30 goals
4. Emily Mathewson, 17 goals
T-5. Caroline Peters, 16 goals
T-5. Melanie Becker, 16 goals
6. MacKenzie Lange, 13 goals
New Faces In Goal
Vanderbilt enters the 2018 season with a tandem of sophomore goalies. Redshirt sophomore Lily Argyle and true sophomore Madison Foglio with take over for graduated senior Callahan Kent. Both players saw their first collegiate action in 2017, with Argyle making three starts and seven appearances (1-1-0 record, 13.13 GAA, .395 save percentage) and Foglio making three starts and six appearances (1-2-0 record, 11.19 GAA, and .333 save percentage). The duo will combine to succeed three-year starter Callahan Kent, who posted a career record of 12-19-0 in 34 games during her Commodore career.
Single Digits
In 2017, the Dores were 5-0 when holding their opponent under 10 goals in a game and were just 1-9 when allowing 10 or more goals. Vanderbilt’s lone win when allowing double digit goals was a 14-12 win at Villanova on March 18, 2017.
The 90-Second Effect
In the first season of play using the NCAA-mandated 90-second possession clock, Vanderbilt attempted 30.5 shots per game while holding opponents to just 27.4 shots per game. That total gave the Commodores their highest shots per game total since the 2010 season and marked the first time Vanderbilt outshot its opponents since 2013.
Close Calls
Vanderbilt lost all three one-goal games it played in 2017 and has lost six straight one-goal games dating back to the 2016 season. The Commodores’ last one-goal win was against Elon on February 28, 2016. Vanderbilt has not played an overtime game since April 8, 2015, a 10-9 double overtime home loss against Connecticut.
