Green Terror Squeak Past Garnet
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- The McDaniel women's lacrosse team held on in a tight Centennial Conference lacrosse game, edging out a 15-13 win over host Swarthmore on Saturday afternoon at Clothier Field.
Despite Swarthmore’s five goal run in the second half, the Green Terror held on to a two goal lead to finish the game. Garnet sophomores Emily Evans (Atlanta, Ga. / North Springs) and Amy Vachal (Somerset, N.J. / Rutgers Prep) both scored four goals and extended eight-game goal streaks; the scoring duo have combined for 56 goals for Swarthmore (6-2, 0-2 CC).
McDaniel (6-3, 2-1 CC) was led by sophomore Brittany Lines who scored five goals on the afternoon. Also marking Green Terror hat tricks were juniors Brittany Baer (four goals) and Sarah Mintz (three).
The Swarthmore out0hustled McDaniel to 23-14 ground balls and transitioned the ball well with 17 of 22 successful clears on the afternoon.
The first half saw plenty of back and forth action; the game was tied five times and saw four lead changes. McDaniel was the first to get on the board, scoring in the first minute of play.
The Green Terror goal was countered with a goal by senior attack Marissa Schaffer (Moreland Hill, Ohio / Laurel School) she was fed by defender Melissa Grigsby (West Chester, Pa. / West Chester East) who brought the ball up the field on a good clear for Swarthmore. Vachal put the Garnet up one goal with the clock showing 25:37.
After McDaniel scored back-to-back goals, Swarthmore senior midfielder Anna de Regt (Redmond, Wash. / Overlake School) lobbed a shot past the Green Terror goal to tie the game at three goals a piece with 12 minutes left in the half.
The visiting team put two more goals up on the scoreboard before Swarthmore added three to their total. Evans earned two unassisted goals, one was off a free-position attempt and the other she rolled around the crease and shot the ball to the left side of the net, to make the score 5-5. Freshman midfielder Marie Mutryn (Rexford, N.Y. / Niskayuna) put the Garnet ahead with 3:00 minutes on the clock as she put a diving shot into the back net.
McDaniel tied the game with 40 seconds left in the first but Vachal notched her second goal the game to put the Garnet ahead one goal (7-6) before the buzzer signaled the end of the half.
The Green Terror came out the half time huddle on-fire scoring the first seven goals in the first 17 minutes pushing their lead to 13-7.
Evans halted the scoring surge at 6:52 with a free position goal but McDaniel got in one more goal before the Garnet scored five goals in hopes of a rally. The Garnet run was started by junior attack Abbe Muller (West Hartford, Conn. / Conard) who was assisted by Schaffer. Mutryn scored her 15th goal of the season with 3:14 left to make the score 14-10 in favor of the Green Terror. The crowd tossed hats into the stands on back-to-back goals from Vachal and Evans, both marking their sixth and seventh hat-tricks on the season.
With 1:29 showing on the clock, Vachal got the Garnet within one goal of McDaniel marking her 60th career goal.
The Green Terror closed the game with a goal in the last second making the final score 15-13.
Junior goalie Allison Grein (Floral Park, N.Y. / Floral Park) turned away 12 McDaniel shots and collected four ground balls. McDaniel junior goalie Kristin Menzies played the first half collecting five saves before freshman Meg Tart picked-up her first collegiate win in the net with five saves.
The Garnet will travel on the first day of April to Lancaster, Pa. to face defending Centennial Conference champion Franklin & Marshall. The game is set for a 4:00 p.m.
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