April 6, 2008
BALTIMORE, Md. — The 17th-ranked Commodores women’s lacrosse team scored six of the game’s final seven goals to knock off No. 14 Johns Hopkins, 11-10, in overtime Sunday at Homewood Field.
Vanderbilt sophomore Carter Foote scored all three of her goals after the 57th minute of play, including a game-tying goal with eight seconds remaining in regulation and the decisive goal in the second overtime (sudden-victory) period.
“I am just so proud of our team’s character,” VU Head Coach Cathy Swezey said after the game. “To not play our very best for the first 40 minutes and then come back the way we did shows a lot about this group.”
Senior Brooke Shinaberry had an outstanding afternoon in the goal, tallying 11 saves to give the Commodores (8-4, 2-1 American Lacrosse Conference) a victory. Vanderbilt will next play host to league rival Ohio State this Friday, April 11, at 4 p.m. CT at the VU Lacrosse Complex. Hopkins’ Lizzie O’Ferrall also stopped more than 50 percent of the shots she faced, making 12 saves on the day.
Vanderbilt trailed by as many as four goals in the second half before mounting a furious comeback over the final 14 minutes. JHU’s Kirby Houck scored her second goal of the game to give the Bluejays a 9-5 lead with 19:01 on the clock.
Goals by seniors Ashley Paschall and Margie Curran brought the Commodores back within two with just over 10 minutes left in regulation. In the closing minutes, Foote took over. The Alexandria, Va., native scored with 2:23 on the clock to bring VU within a goal. Junior Cara Giordano caused a JHU turnover and started to clear the ball with just over 30 seconds remaining. Foote drove to score the game-tying goal with only eight seconds remaining in regulation.
Vanderbilt would control the ensuing draw, but time ran out and the game moved into overtime tied at 9-9. Hopkins would score in the opening minute of the first overtime period, but Vanderbilt would tie the game when Giordano scored in the fourth minute. After six minutes found the game knotted at 10-10, the contest moved into the sudden-victory period.
After over 68 minutes of lacrosse, Foote would score the golden goal off an assist from Curran. Curran finished the contest with three goals and four assists for a game-high seven points.
Defensively, senior Heather Koutrakos had an outstanding performance. She forced two turnovers, picked up four ground balls and was a crucial element of the Commodores’ clears. Senior Leslie Koch also picked up four ground balls, while senior Sasha Cielak scooped three ground balls.
Following Friday’s game against Ohio State, Vanderbilt will travel to Albany on Sunday, April 13, for a Noon ET match. The Commodores then head to Notre Dame on April 16 before closing the regular season at home against Duke on April 20. The ALC Tournament takes place May 2-4 in Evanston, Ill.
