LAX falls at Northwestern, 14-8

March 30, 2008

Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. — The 17th-ranked Vanderbilt women’s lacrosse team pushed top-ranked Northwestern to the limit Sunday before falling, 14-8, to the defending national champion Wildcats at Lakeside Field.

Senior goalkeeper Brooke Shinaberry made 13 saves on the day, keeping the Commodores in the game until Northwestern scored seven of the final eight goals as Vanderbilt transitioned to an aggressive defense to gain possession.

Vanderbilt was down only one at the half as sophomore Carter Foote scored her second of three goals with only 14 seconds remaining in the opening stanza. The teams traded goals for the first 10 minutes of the second half, and the Wildcats lead was only one at 8-7 with 20 minutes remaining.

As time waned, the Commodores took more defensive chances in an effort to get the ball back, allowing Northwestern to score four consecutive goals. Senior Leslie Koch got Vanderbilt back on the board with seven minutes remaining to bring the Commodores back within three at 11-8, but Northwestern answered only eight seconds later and would score twice more to ice the game.

Foote’s hat-trick led five Commodore scorers. Junior Cara Giordano had a pair of goals, with Koch, senior Ashley Paschall and freshman Katherine Denkler also scoring.

The Commodores (7-4, 1-1 American Lacrosse Conference) continue league play next weekend, traveling to Baltimore, Md., to take on 15th-ranked Johns Hopkins. Vanderbilt then returns home to Nashville, playing host to Ohio State on Friday, April 11, at 4 p.m. CT.