LISLE, ILL. – The University of Northwestern women's lacrosse team opened their 2019 season on the road, taking on Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference (MWLC) opponent Benedictine University. This afternoon was a day of firsts for the Eagles: first year in the MWLC, first game under head coach
Sarah Connally, first-ever game against Benedictine, and UNW picks up their first win of the season defeating BU by a final score of 19-13.
The Eagles dominated the opening frame, jumping out to an early 6-0 lead before BenU was able to get on the board. Benedictine scored a pair of goals midway through the period to bring the score to 8-3, but UNW answered back and took a commanding 12-4 lead entering the break.
Senior
Hannah Shands (Hugo, Minn./Mahtomedi), junior
Talia Sherry (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview), and freshman
Samantha Wiebold (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) each tallied three goals apiece for the Eagles in the half. Northwestern also held the advantage in shots (21), shots on goal (19), ground balls (15), and draw controls (11).
The second half was more of a back-and-forth battle. Benedictine was able to net two quick goals in the first 10 minutes of play, forcing coach Connally to call a timeout to regroup the Eagles. Northwestern answered back with a pair of goals themselves, but Benedictine would not go away as they scored three goals to pull within five (14-9). Both teams traded goals for the remainder of the period, but Northwestern was able to hang on for the win.
Shands (5 goals, 2 assists) and Sherry (4 goals, 3 assists) led the scoring efforts for the Eagles, each tallying seven points. Wiebold also had a strong start to her UNW career with five goals in her first contest in the purple and gold. The Eagles also saw and advantage in shots (39-24) and draw controls (23-11) over Benedictine.
Northwestern will host the University of Dubuque in a non-conference matchup on Saturday, March 9, with draw time set for 6:00 p.m. For all things women's lacrosse, fans can follow @unw on Twitter and Instagram and visit www.unweagles.com.
