COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The women's lacrosse team led wire-to-wire in their first of three games in the Centennial State on Sunday, March 8th in holding onto a 13-10 victory over the University of Colorado Colorado Springs at the Mountain Lion Stadium to move to 4-1 on the season.
Score: McKendree University 13, University of Colorado Colorado Springs 10
Record: Bearcats 4-1, 0-0 GLVC | Mountain Lions 1-2, 0-0 RMAC
HOW IT HAPPENED
McKendree opened their first game in the Centennial State with five straight goals coming by way of the underclassmen attackers Elora Waardenburg (Cobble Hill, British Columbia, Canada) and Ariyah LaFrance (Akwesasne, N.Y.) with the senior Jayna Barnden (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) assisting on three of those scoring possessions.
The Mountain Lions were finally able to get themselves on the board with 3:43 left in the first period, but Barnden was there on the response to end the initial quarter up 6-1. LaFrance joined Waardenburg with a hat-trick within the early stages as sophomore midfielder Elle Garriock (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) notched in her fifth goal of the season with the Bearcats lead trimmed to three at the end of the first half.
Both squads tabbed in two goals each in the third quarter of action, with McKendree's both by once again in LaFrance to put her at five total in the game already with the team remaining a three-point edge.
UCCS began the final period in regulation with two straight scoring possessions to cut their deficit to within one. A yellow card assessed to the Mountain Lions with 9:50 left on the clock became the crucial factor down the stretch, as Garriock and junior midfielder Mackenzie Stroisch (Arnold, Mo.) capitalized on two man-up shots that sailed in over a 23-second span to extend their lead back to a trio.
Six minutes cruised by without any more points until the Mountain Lions broke the drought with 3:13 remaining to be down by two. But Barnden had put away all hopes of a comeback by the opposition, as she found the back of the net with 43 ticks left to end the match with a 13-10 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• LaFrance had a game-high seven points, consisting of five goals and two assists on six shot attempts overall and on-goal to go with a pair of ground balls.
• Barnden finished with five points with two goals scored and a trio of assists credited with nailing both of her shots on the goal, plus getting a ground ball and a draw control.
• Waardenburg joined LaFrance with a hat-trick in the victory with three goals scored on four shots, as the freshman picked up three ground balls.
• Junior midfielder Lexi Macleod contributed a game-high of four assists and seven draw controls with a pair of ground balls.
• Junior goalkeeper Amber Hayden (Woburn, Mass.) collected 10 saves and a season-high five ground balls in the win.
• McKendree shot 52.0% overall and 81.3% on the goal.
• The Bearcats were 15-for-18 (83.3%) on clear attempts.
• McKendree had the advantage in shots on goal (16-14), saves (10-3), and turnovers (18-19).
• Macleod's four assists are an individual season-high.
• The team moves to 4-1 for a second straight year.
UP NEXT
McKendree will be back in action on Tuesday, March 10th when they face Fort Lewis College in a neutral-site setting at the Art and Lorraine Gonzales Stadium on the campus of Colorado State University Pueblo in Pueblo, Colorado with start time set for 12:00 PM CT.
The game will be streamed live or on-demand on the RMAC Network with a subscription/download purchase required, as live stats will also be provided to the public.
Make sure to keep up with McKendree University Women's Lacrosse on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram. #GLVCwlax | #D2lax
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