SALEM, Ore. – Despite playing down 12-10 in active positions on the field due to a limited roster today, the Corban University Women's Lacrosse team picked up their first win of the season at the Outdoor Athletic Complex, as the Warriors defeated NCAA DIII University of Puget Sound by a final score of 13-10 in a mid-afternoon home opener for the Navy and Gold.
"I am so proud of how hard our team played today, just as I have been with every game so far," Warriors' head coach Meredith Pinkerton stated shortly after her program's first win of the 2024 season. "Winning is so exciting, but more importantly, they showed great character on the field. The hard work this team has put in at practice and other games is what leads us to moments like these, and I'm blessed to coach such a great group of women."
It was a tale of two halves that resulted in the Warriors (1-2) home opening victory earlier today, as the first half was littered with offense by Corban while holding the Loggers (2-2) to just three first half goals. The eventual offensive player of the game, senior attacker Sydney Davis secured four goals in the first 21 minutes of gameplay, while freshman midfielder Elsie Marineau slid the ball past the UPS goalkeeper as the second quarter horn was sounding to lock up a first half hattrick and a 10-3 scoreboard advantage for the Navy and Gold.
However, after trading a single goal apiece in the entire third period, Puget Sound would make a hard push towards a fourth quarter comeback, led by midfielder Cat Schilli who kicked off the period with a score in the first two minutes. Sophomore defender Annette Romano would answer next to keep the Loggers in check, but two more from Shilli and a down-manned goal from attacker Maya Sheklow cut their deficit in half and trailed by four with just over five minutes remaining.
At the three-minute mark, Davis netted her sixth and final goal of the contest to force UPS into playing on-ball for the remainder of the contest, which would prove to be the exhaustion factor that the Warriors needed to stretch the field out and play keep-away for a majority of the last three minutes. The Loggers would add two more goals in the final minute by Schilli and defender Maggie Ott but would ultimately fall short of the mark they needed in the 13-10 final score on Corban's campus.
Warriors' goalkeeper Payton Nuse was instrumental in the hard fought victory for Corban's starting ten, as she snagged ten saves in a complete game win for the Corona, California native. On the opposite end of the field, Puget Sound goalkeeper Phoebe Crowther secured eight saves for the Loggers despite picking up her first loss of the season.
Davis scored on six occasions to set a new season-high for the 5'6 attacker, while Marineau added three goals and three assists in a well-rounded effort while securing the ball on ten of her faceoffs throughout the match. Romano and sophomore attacker Naomi Rauch each added two goals apiece in the Warriors' winning efforts.
Schilli tied Davis in scoring today with six goals, four of which came in the fourth quarter alone to give her team a fighting chance in enemy territory. Sheklow added two goals and an assist to the mix for the Loggers.
The Warriors will pack up and head to La Grande this upcoming Saturday for the final road game of the 2024 season, as they'll battle fellow NAIA school Eastern Oregon University (0-5) at 3pm in Community Stadium.
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