April 4, 2007
DURHAM, N.H. — Senior Kendall Thrift scored a game-high six points on three goals and three assists, and No. 17 Vanderbilt defeated New Hampshire, 18-12, Wednesday in NCAA women’s lacrosse action at Memorial Field.
Sophomore Cara Giordano added four goals, while junior Margie Curran had two goals and two assists. Four other Commodores — seniors Jennifer Tapscott and Nicole Pugno, junior Leslie Koch and freshman Sarah Downing — each scored two goals.
The Commodores outshot the Wildcats, 48-26, but UNH goalkeeper Natalie Jones made 16 saves on the day. VU goalkeeper Brooke Shinaberry also had an impressive afternoon, making nine stops and coming up with three ground balls.
Vanderbilt held a 17-15 advantage in draw controls, thanks to eight by Curran alone.
Giordano opened the scoring in the fourth minute, giving VU a 1-0 advantage. But UNH’s Alexa Webster would score twice in a row to give the Wildcats their only lead of the game. Tied at 3-3, the Commodores scored four in a row.
One from Thrift, two from Downing and another from Tapscott gave the Commodores a 7-3 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half. The teams would trade goals before the break, and the Commodores held an 8-5 advantage during the intermission.
In the second half, Vanderbilt opened up a five-goal lead after goals from Giordano and Koch. New Hampshire would tally three straight to pull within two goals, but the Commodores would not break.
After a timeout, the squad regrouped and scored five consecutive goals (Pugno, Thrift, Thrift, Curran, Curran) to stretch the lead to seven and give Vanderbilt a comfortable victory.
The Commodores return home this weekend to play host to Johns Hopkins for an important American Lacrosse Conference on Sunday, April 8, at 1 p.m. CT, at the VU Lacrosse Complex.
