CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The Trine University women's lacrosse team started the season with a dominating performance over their hosts from Mount Saint Joseph University, shutting them out in the first half before finishing with an 18-2 victory.
The Thunder offense exploded from the start with the team scoring a goal just 49 seconds into the first quarter. Junior Ella Dougherty (Lowell, Mich. / Lowell) scored the goal, the team's first of the season, she would go on to finish the contest with three goals. Senior Chloe Vruno (Geneva, Ill. / St. Francis) added an assist on the goal, the first point in a team-high six-point performance. She would end the contest with three goals and three assists.
The team's second goal came just under a minute later from sophomore Danielle Gargiulo (Downers Grove, Ill. / Downers Grove) who would end the game tied for second on the team with five points including three goals and two assists.
All told the first quarter would see eight goals scored, all on Trine's side of the scoreboard. The second would go much the same with the team scoring five more unanswered goals to take a 13-0 lead into halftime.
Mt. St. Joe would score the first goal of the second to cut the lead to 12, but the next two belonged to the Thunder. The first goal of the half for the team came from senior Liv Ghent (Byron Center, Mich. / Caledonia), her third of the day. She would finish the contest with a team high four goals and added one assist to tie with Gargiulo with five points.
The team would score two final goals in the fourth quarter to win by the score of 18-2. Freshman Brooke Hoag (Portage, Mich. / Portage) was the final multi-goal scorer ending with a pair in the game. Sophomores Nikki Hibler (West Lafayette, Ind. / Harrison) and Alyssa Keptner (Midland, Mich. / H.H. Dow) along with freshman Paige Hull (New Lenox, Ill. / Lincoln Way West) rounded out the scoring with one goal each.
Defensively, the Trine goaltenders were under little pressure, facing just four total shots. Senior Jillian Rejczyk (Wauconda, Ill. / Wauconda) played the first half in net and finished with just one save but earned the victory for the team. Freshman Maddy Kasten (Battle Creek, Mich. / Harper Creek) played the second half and finished with a save as well, facing only three shots.
Vruno led the team with three caused turnovers in the contest, with Hoag and Keptner each also finishing with two. Hoag joined freshman Courtney Rhodes (Monee, Ill. / Providence Catholic) leading the team with four groundballs each.
The team will return home for their next contest when they host Bethel (Ind.) University on Wednesday, March 5. The game is set to start at 5 p.m.