April 6, 2014
Green’s Photos
Senior Day always proves to be a bittersweet occasion for the coaches, student-athletes and their families.
Sunday was no different for the Vanderbilt lacrosse team, which honored seniors Brandi Byner, Alyssa Dunlap, Chelsea Lanzoni, Sarah Tustin and Abby Wheeler.
But the game left a sour taste.
The Commodores never led and scored a season-low five goals in a 16-5 loss to No. 17 Ohio State on Sunday at the VU Lacrosse Complex. Meggie Ramzy tied a career high with two goals and goalkeeper Maddie Kratz matched a career high with 12 saves but the Buckeyes controlled the game from start to finish.
Vanderbilt (4-8, 1-2 American Lacrosse Conference) has lost two straight and six of seven. Ohio State (10-4, 3-1) has won six in a row against the Commodores.
The Buckeyes scored first but sophomore midfielder Mallory Schonk answered less than two minutes later with her 17th goal of the season to tie the game. From there, Ohio State pulled away with four straight goals. Ramzy and Alexa Kunowsky scored before halftime but OSU led 10-3 at the break.
Vanderbilt struggled to get possession and shots off as OSU scored the first five goals of the second half and eight straight to take a 15-3 lead. Emma Dagres scored with 5:46 left to end the drought. Ramzy added her second goal of the game – the most since scoring two in the season opener against Kennesaw State – a couple minutes later.
After a slow start, Kratz settled in and made 12 saves – her most since 12 saves against Massachusetts on Feb. 9 in the second game of the season. The junior batted away a bevy of Buckeyes shots – there were 33 in all – in her first start since last weekend. Freshman Callahan Kent got the nod against Harvard on Wednesday.
OSU dominated the draw controls early but the teams finished even with 12 apiece. They were also even in saves as OSU goalie Tori DeScenza also made 12 stops. But Vanderbilt turned the ball over 20 times, compared to Ohio State’s 13 and was outshot 33-21. The Commodores were also just 1-of-6 on free position attempts.
Vanderbilt returns to action at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday against No. 7 Northwestern in Evanston, Ill.
