ASHLAND, Va.- Randolph-Macon Women's Lacrosse opened up conference play Wednesday night, playing host to No. 10 Washington and Lee on Day Field. The Yellow Jackets battled the entire game but came up short.
The Basics
Score: #10 Washington and Lee 13, Randolph-Macon 9
Venue: Ashland, Va. // Randolph-Macon College // Day Field
Records: Randolph-Macon (6-3, 0-1 ODAC); #10 Washington and Lee (7-2, 3-0 ODAC)
How it Happened
- WLU opened up the scoring in the first minute of the game on a shot from Laura Baki. Less than a minute later, Baki connected with Hannah Van Son to extend the Generals' lead to two. At the 11:58 mark, Lilly Fowler (Phoenix, Md./Notre Dame Prep) connected with Grayson Cornelius (Glenwood, Md./Glenelg High School) on the power-play, ending Washington and Lee's two-goal run and cutting the deficit to one goal. Fowler cashed in on a free-position shot on the power-play to level the game at 2-2. At the 8:50 mark, Fowler notched her second goal of the game, giving the Yellow Jackets the lead. 25 seconds later, the Generals rattled off back-to-back goals to grab the lead, 4-3. With 5:59 left to play in the first quarter, Baki picked up her third goal of the night, extending the WLU lead to two. One minute and 35 seconds later, Van Son scored once again for the Generals on the power-play during a free position shot, making the score 6-3. At the 1:43 mark, Grace Kim added a seventh goal for WLU, pushing the lead to four. With three seconds left on the clock, Fowler finished her hat-trick in the first quarter and cut the deficit to three heading into the second frame.
- RMC maintained possession to start the second quarter, after Hailey Pierce (Mechanicsville, Va./Mechanicsville) scooped up the draw control. 41 seconds into the start of the second period, Reese Toth (Edgewater, Md./South River) found Campbell Conway (Annapolis, Md./ St. Mary's) cutting at the crease to put the Yellow Jackets within two. At the 13:24 mark, Toth found Fowler in front of the net, making the score 7-6. RMC kept the momentum rolling and with 8:26 on the clock, Toth capitalized on the power play, with Fowler assisting to equalize the score once more. Four minutes later, the Generals shut down the Lemon and Black's run when Kelly Polacek found the back of the net. At the 2:39 mark, Polacek added a second goal to make the score 9-7 as the teams head into halftime.
- Coming out of the break, the Yellow Jackets were the first team to strike after Fowler scooped up a ground ball on the opposite side of the field and connected with Toth to put RMC within one, four minutes into the third. For the next eight minutes, neither team found the back of the net. Senior Gillian Gladden (Taneytown, Md./Francis Scott Key) made key saves to keep the Yellow Jackets within one. At the 3:33 mark, the Generals added back-to-back goals from Carleigh Taylor and Baki with 2:40 on the clock. Gladden made another massive save to close out the third quarter with the Yellow Jackets trailing by three.
- At the 11:15 mark in the final frame, WLU's Emma Marsh capitalized on a turnover and extended its lead to four. With 9:38 left to play, Fowler tallied her fifth goal of the night to make the score 12-9. At the 4:29 mark, Polacek added the final goal for the Generals, extending their lead back to four. RMC continued to press the attack, but the WLU defense hunkered down and closed out the game with a 13-9 win.
Inside the Numbers
- Fowler led the offense with eight points on the afternoon, on five goals and three assists. Two of her goals came from the eight-meter fan.
- Toth recorded four points overall on two goals and two assists on the night.
- Conway and Cornelieus each had one goal on their stat sheet for the contest
- The Generals outshot the Yellow Jackets 32-18 overall and 24-to-12 in shots on goal.
- Gladden played the full 60 minutes, making 13 saves and picking up two ground balls in the contest.
- Pierce picked up four of the Yellow Jackets' nine draw controls and tallied two caused turnovers on the night.
- From the eight-meter fan, RMC went 2-2 while Washington and Lee went 1-2.
- Lydia Lesnevich (Catonsville, Md./Towson) paced the Lemon and Black with three ground balls. Maddy Arca (Burke, Va./Lake Braddock) scooped up two ground balls of her own in the contest.
For the Record
- After tonight's contest, Fowler has tied Jessica Burke (1997-00) for fifth place with 104 career assists. She now sits five assists behind Alison Smith (1993-96) for fourth place all-time.
Up Next
Randolph-Macon women's lacrosse hits the road on Wednesday, March 25, after a four-game homestand, where they will take on Lynchburg at 7:00 p.m. for their second game of conference play this season.
