American Athletic Conference women's lacrosse teams went 4-0 on Opening Day, capped by a thrilling overtime win by Vanderbilt against No. 25 Colorado.
In addition to the Commodores' 11-10 victory, East Carolina, Cincinnati and Temple all defended their home fields on the first day of the season.
Vanderbilt 11, No. 25 Colorado 10
NASHVILLE — Bri Gross notched the overtime game-winner and Nancy Halleron contributed five goals as the Vanderbilt lacrosse team lifted the lid on 2023 with an 11-10 victory over No. 25 Colorado.
Gross scored in the closing seconds of the first overtime period after the Commodores forced Colorado into a shot-clock violation to open the extra frame. It was one of two goals on the afternoon for Gross. Halleron added five goals on just seven shots.
Lila Huddles contributed a goal and three assists while Paige Finneran had a goal and two assists. In the cage, Paige Gunning made 12 saves including a series of five-straight in the fourth quarter.
The Buffaloes were led by four goals and an assist from Charlie Rudy. Morgan Pence added three goals and two assists. The Buffaloes split the game in goal, with Grace Donnelly making nine first-half saves before Danielle Heintz made eight saves in the duration of the game.
The team shots reflected an overtime game. Neither team led by more than two goals the entire contest. Vandy held a 30-29 edge on shots and a 28-22 edge in shots on goal. Colorado held a 17-12 advantage in saves and a 15-10 lead in draw controls. The Commodores forced 15 CU turnovers, including the decisive one in overtime.
Halleron scored the first two goals of the game before Rudy responded with two Buffalo goals to tie it. The score remained tied at the end of each quarter of regulation, as the teams were tied at four after the first, six at halftime, nine at the end of the third and 10 at the end of regulation.
Cincinnati 14, Kent State 7
CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati lacrosse team rode seven first-quarter goals for a dominant 14-7 win over Kent State in each team's season opener on Friday afternoon.
The Golden Flashes scored five times in the fourth quarter to close the gap. Cincinnati had an 11-2 shots advantage in the first period alone, plus a 10-3 margin in the third for a 33-18 difference overall.
Lauren Ottensmeyer garnered a hat trick by the opening sequence of the second quarter to finish with a match-high four goals. The Youngstown State transfer's career-high of five came in April 2021 against Akron.
Camryn Callaghan had a hat trick in her collegiate debut, as well as three assists, while Elizabeth Murphy (14 goals, team-high 20 assists last season) did the same for the first time in her three-year career. Ava Goeller also scored twice, joining Grace Wehland and Kylie Gioia in the scoring column.
Nine different Bearcats attempted shots, including two each from Julie Rose and Morgan Bates off the bench. Rose had four goals as a key freshman reserve in 2021 but missed last season due to a preseason injury. Ashley Lapp, an Akron transfer, earned seven saves in just over three quarters, allowing only one goal. Between her, Callaghan and Ottensemeyer, defender Kimora Bailey was the fourth newcomer to earn a starting nod.
"(Finding more scorers) been our goal this season," head coach Gina Thomas said. "We lost some great scorers the last couple of years, so we talked this year about not relying on one or two kids to put up points. Defensively, that's where our experience is and where we expect our kids that have been here 3-4 years to lock it down. What we were really excited about today is that we caused a lot of turnovers, and Ashley Lapp made some really big saves for us, and she was solid today."
The Bearcats improved to 5-0 all-time against the Golden Flashes, and the 24 caused turnovers would have matched the Old Dominion victory on April 16 as a 2022 season-high.
East Carolina 15, Radford 5
GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina women's lacrosse team defeated the Radford Highlanders, 15-5, to open the 2023 season on Friday at Johnson Stadium. The Pirates were led by Frances Kimel with six points on three goals and three assists.
East Carolina (1-0) outscored Radford (0-1) in all but one quarter Friday, tying only the second quarter, 2-2. It was a wire-to-wire win for the Pirates as they took the lead only 2:05 in and never looked back.
Kimel was excellent on the day as her six points tied the sixth most in a game in program history. Ellie Bromley for her part led the team in scoring four goals on 100 percent accuracy on her four shots.
The game was reasonably close through the first two quarters but after entering the halftime break at 6-2 the Pirates took charge. ECU scored nine goals in the second half, including five in the third quarter to put the game fully out of reach.
All three East Carolina goalkeepers saw game action with Brynn Knight getting the start and the winning decision with her three saves.
Flynn Reed led the team with six draw controls while Sydney Frank collected five ground balls.
The Pirates were also excellent as a team on defense as 13 caused turnovers tied the fourth-best total in program history. 16 draw controls tied the eighth most and 35 shots tied ninth most.
Temple 10, Vermont 5
PHILADELPHIA - Belle Mastropietro scored three goals and added two assists as Temple broke open what had been a close game with five fourth-quarter goals in a 10-5 victory against Vermont Friday in the season-opener for both teams at Howarth Field.
Mastropietro, the 2023 preseason American Athletic Conference Midfielder of the Year, had two goals and two assists in the decisive fourth quarter, helping the Owls turn a 5-3 lead after three periods into a runaway win against the preseason America East favorites.
The Owls had built a 4-1 lead after the first quarter, but the Catamounts chipped away with the only goal of the second period before the teams exchanged scores in the third.
Temple goalie Taylor Grollman came up with eight saves in her first career start.