CINCINNATI, Ohio – Callie Sundin tallied a hat trick and Paige Gunning made a career-high 15 saves to carry the Vanderbilt lacrosse team to a 10-8 road win over Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference opener Friday at Nippert Stadium.
Vanderbilt (6-2, 1-0 AAC), which picked up its first road win of the season, has now won four games in a row.
Gunning was outstanding throughout the day, making eight saves in the first half and seven more in the second. The sophomore goalkeeper also led the Commodores with five ground balls.
“(Gunning) was ridiculous,” Vanderbilt head coach Beth Hewitt said. “It just felt like any time that we needed the save if they were going on a little bit of a run, she was coming up with it. I thought her and the defense were so connected right off the bat and I thought that really helped shuttle us into the game. You just can’t say enough.”
On the offensive end, Sundin’s three goals were complemented by two goals and an assist from Griffin Gearhardt as well as two goals and an assist courtesy of Maddie Souza.
If some is good, more is better.
That’s Sundin’s third goal of the day.
⚓ 9
🔴 62nd » 18:51#AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/ppODHMQyHQ
— Vanderbilt Lacrosse (@VandyLacrosse) March 19, 2021
Strong defensive play from both sides made goals tough to come by in the early going. With the scored tied at 2-2 with seven minutes left in the first half, Vanderbilt closed the opening period with a 5-0 run to take a 7-2 halftime lead.
Sundin paced the offense with two first-half goals while Bri Gross added a goal and two assists in the opening 30 minutes.
Go on then, Maddie 💪#AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/px2NrwZIZt
— Vanderbilt Lacrosse (@VandyLacrosse) March 19, 2021
Out of the break, the Bearcats tallied the first four goals to trim the edge down to 7-6. The run spanned the opening 10 minutes of the second half until Gearhardt’s free position goal stopped the bleeding.
Back-to-back goals from Sundin and Souza extended the Vanderbilt lead back up to four at 10-6 with just under 10 minutes left.
Two quick Cincinnati goals made the score 10-8 with eight minutes showing on the clock, but that was as close as the home side would get the rest of the way.
The two teams took 28 shots apiece with the Commodores holding a 27-18 advantage on ground balls.
Vanderbilt improves to 7-2 in the all-time series versus the Bearcats and is 3-2 in games played in Cincinnati.
The two sides will square off again at 11 a.m. Sunday at Nippert Stadium.
