MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – University of Northwestern Women's Lacrosse traveled to Cornell College on Saturday morning for their conference opener. UNW soared to a 16-5 victory over the Rams to improve to 5-3 overall and start 1-0 against Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference opponents.
Samantha Wiebold (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) led the Eagles' attack with five goals and an assist for six points while leading UNW with five draw controls. The trio of
Maddie Hauer (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West),
Cara Smith (Watertown, Wis./Watertown), and
Ava Whitcomb (Otsego, Minn./Rogers) all scored hat tricks in the win.
Abby Scheel (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) and
Emma Ruegemer (Cold Spring, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins) accounted for the remaining two UNW goals.
Smith, the reigning MWLC Defensive Player of the Week, wreaked havoc on the Rams with five caused turnovers and 11 ground balls. In goal,
Daisy Koffler (Pine City, Minn./Pine City) had 10 saves for the Eagles to earn the win.
UNW leaped out to a big lead early as the Eagles scored five goals in the opening quarter while shutting out the Rams at the same time. The Rams scored the opening goal of the second quarter to get on the board, but Northwestern responded with three consecutive goals to go up 8-1. Cornell scored the final goal of the half, though UNW still led 8-2 at halftime.
The Rams scored two of the first three goals of the third quarter to get within five, trailing 9-4. The Eagles would go on to score four consecutive goals to go up 13-4 early in the fourth quarter. Cornell would score once more, but UNW closed out their conference-opening win with three straight goals to take the 16-5 victory.
Up next, Northwestern will return home to Reynolds Field to take on Hamline University on Wednesday, April 5 at 7:00 p.m.
