NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt lacrosse started the regular season with a 16-7 victory over Wagner College on a rainy Sunday afternoon at the Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex, giving first-year head coach Beth Hewitt her first win with the Commodores.
The Commodores never looked back after getting off to a fast start, jumping out to a comfortable 10-2 lead at halftime.
“It’s just exciting to get out and compete against our first opponent of the year,” Hewitt said. “We started with some of those first-game jitters and it took us a few minutes to settle in.
“We’re an upbeat type of team where we get a lot of our movement from pushing the ball. And once we did that, we really settled in and played Commodore lacrosse.”
Sophie Furlong led the way for the Commodores, setting a career-high with five goals. She scored three of the team’s first five goals and finished the first half with four goals.
Julie Blaze and Maddie Souza also tallied multiple-goal games, with each contributing two. Three Vanderbilt veterans Melanie Becker, Hadley Brown and Emily Mathewson also tallied first-half goals for the Dores.
Other Commodores registering goals in the victory were Griffin Gearhardt, Brianne Gross and Cassidy Orban. It was the first collegiate goals for Gross and Orban.
Gabrielle Fornia posted two assists, Gross contributed five draw controls, and Gwyn Devin registered four caused turnovers.
All three Vanderbilt goalkeepers saw action with Madison Foglio getting the start and earning the win after making three saves. Lily Argyle had a team-high five saves while Grace Bell added three.
Vanderbilt next will host Kennesaw State on Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. CT at the Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex.
— VUCommodores.com —
