FREDERICK, Md. - The Hood College women's lacrosse team hosted their first home conference game of the year on Wednesday evening against the Golden Wolves of Alvernia University and earned the win in the contest 14-7.
Julia Gregory (Sussex, N.J./Vernon Twp.) became the all-time leader in program history for draw controls won with 283 on her decorated career.
Inside the Box Score
Maggie Merrill (Marriottsville, Md./Marriotts Ridge) and Rachel Harper (Ellicott City, Md./Marriotts Ridge) led the Blazer offense as both netted four goals.
Geneva DiRe (Lebanon Township, N.J./Voorhees) had three goals in the contest to earn the hat trick for Hood.
Gregory netted two goals, and led the team in assist with three, and draw controls won with seven to break the draw control record.
Menna Salem (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) picked up six ground balls.
How it Happened
The Blazers found themselves in an early 2-0 hole midway through the first quarter. As the first quarter went on, Hood gained some rhythm offensively on the backs of
Rachel Harper (Ellicott City, Md./Marriotts Ridge), and
Geneva DiRe (Lebanon Township, N.J./Voorhees) who both netted goals to close out the first quarter all tied at 2-2.
DiRe continued on the attack and scored her second goal of the contest just over a minute into the second quarter.
Hood stayed aggressive but now it was
Emma Massey (Felton, Del./Lake Forest) and
Maggie Merrill (Marriottsville, Md./Marriotts Ridge) on the attack as they fired shots that found the back of the net.
Alvernia needed to weather the storm, and a pivotal goal by Hannah Tyler calmed the storm and cut into Hood's lead to make the score 5-3, still in favor of the Blazers.
Midway through the second, the Blazers set up their offensive, and DiRe found teammate Harper to extend the lead to 6-3. 27 seconds remained in the quarter, and DiRe was determined to help uplift Hood headed into the break, and captured her third goal of the game, which all came in the first half.
Headed into the break, the Blazers led 7 to 3.
Although Hood held a four goal lead, Alvernia seemed unfazed by this, and came out the gates fast with a goal of their own .
The Blazer responded as Julia Gregory (Sussex, N.J./Vernon Twp.) weaved through the defense, and Hood got their lead back to four. Gregory then assisted teammate
Rachel Harper (Ellicott City, Md./Marriotts Ridge) who netted yet another goal as the Blazer led 9-4.
Throughout the rest of the third quarter, both teams traded goals and headed into the fourth quarter, the Blazer led 10 to 7.
The fourth quarter started, and the Blazer netted three more goals to lead 13 to 7. Alvernia was unable to come up with any more goals, as Hood's defense smothered Alvernia's offense. A
Maggie Merrill (Marriottsville, Md./Marriotts Ridge) goal with three minutes remaining ended the contest with a 14-7 win for the Blazers .
For the Opponent
Grace Weissenberger and Hannah Tyler both netted three goals to earn a hat-trick in the contest.
Addison Bolz picked up five ground balls.
Analysis
Hood outshot Alvernia 30-21.
The Blazers edged the Golden Wolves in draw controls won 12-11, and won the ground battle 28-23.
Notes
Hood improves to 5-5 overall, and 1-1 in conference play.
Alvernia falls to 2-10 overall, and 0-2 in conference play.
Up Next
The squad hits the road for a conference matchup against the Lions of Albright College on Saturday, April 11, at 3 PM.
