CARLISLE, Pa. - Coming off a couple of tough losses to Denison and Catholic the Dickinson women's lacrosse team knew they were going to face a stiff challenge on Wednesday night in the unbeaten Shenandoah University who were riding high with victories over both No. 15 Messiah and No. 14 Christopher Newport. On the back of a 5-2 first quarter the Red and White were able to collect a massive 12-10 non-conference win at a rain soaked Biddle Field.
Two minutes in the visitors were on the board as DC keeper
Peyton VanDorpe shutdown Ainsley Buckner once but not twice. Dickinson then flipped the momentum around with
Abby Geary knotting things up, before
Liz Barroll,
Jenna Nowland and
Emma Wynne forced goalkeeper Madison Perry into a pair of saves. The home just kept pushing and eventually struck twice thanks to
Delaney Herbert and Wynne for a 3-1 lead with just over nine minutes left. After Buckner grabbed her second of the period, Nowland and Wynne (
Bella Guckes assist) each added one more for the Devils to open up a 5-2 advantage through 15-minutes.
The first nine minutes of the second were fairly sloppy as the rain came down harder leading to eight combined turnovers and just three shots with
Sage Whiteside and Herbert recording the chances for DC. A free-position tally by Alex Ripkin cut it down to 5-3 and was immediately followed 19-seconds later when Gabriella Raspanti hit Amy Bell for the finish making it 5-4 with 5:53 to play. Shenandoah kept applying the pressure on the Dickinson defense recording four more chances with VanDorpe shutting down Buckner, before Raspanti knotted things up at 5-5. The Red and White took the lead into the halftime break when Guckes was turned aside by Perry, but Herbert did find the back of the net.
Dickinson continued their heater to begin the third with both Herbert and Whiteside solving Perry to extend the margin to 8-5 with just 1:18 off the clock. Over the ensuing six-plus minutes each team had just one look at cage as Ripkin was blocked by the DC defense on a free-position shot, while Whiteside met the same fate on the other end of the field. However, after a yellow card was assessed to Julianna Fohner, Geary added another one to the Devils side of the board with a free-position rip (9-5). The Hornets then answered back with three in a row to cut the deficit down to just one 9-8, but Wynne setup Barroll for the final goal of the frame leaving it at 10-8 with a quarter to go.Â
Each keeper would notch a save inside the first three minutes with Perry stopping Wynne and VanDorpe telling Bell "NO". Following a miscue by Emily Lerch caused by
Izzy Hall, she would get the rock ahead to Nowland who found Geary for the finish and the 11-8 advantage. VanDorpe recorded another stop against Ripkin, but then a DC turnover allowed for Madison Re to bury the rock making it 11-9. With five minutes remaining the Devils would basically put the game to bed as Herbert had a shot stopped by Perry, before she corralled her own rebound and stash it behind the keeper for the 12-9 lead. Emily Ransom pulled the Hornets to within 12-10 with just over two minutes left, but they could get no closer as the Red and White finished off the game.
Red Devil Leaders
Goals - Herbert (4), Geary (3), Wynne (2)
Assists - Wynne (2)
Groundballs - VanDorpe (5), Herbert (4),
Ali Broome, Hall and Whiteside (3)
Draw Controls - Whiteside (4), Herbert (2)
Saves - VanDorpe (7)
Hornet Leaders
Goals - Buckner (3), Bell and Re (2)
Assists - Lerch and Raspanti (2)
Groundballs - Fohner (5)
Draw Controls - Buckner (8), Re (7)
Saves - Perry (9)
Next on the Turf
Dickinson (3-2) will now make their way to Panama City Beach, Florida for a pair of games over Spring Break. First the Devils will battle SUNY Geneseo on Monday night at 8pm, before taking on Ohio Wesleyan on Thursday the 14th at 5pm.
