WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Trine University women’s lacrosse team (1-2 overall) leaned heavily on their offense, scoring 13 goals in the first half alone to pick up their first win of the season, a 20-11 up-and-down contest versus Wilmington (0-8 overall). Trine had four different players with at least three goals, led by midfielders Emily Canepa (6 goals, 1 assist) and Taylor Gast (4 goals). Keys to the game for the Thunder were winning the total shots (2:1 in the first half) and ground ball (28-to-21) battle.
Freshman Anne Mammel (Tecumseh, Mich./Tecumseh) was strong in the opening minutes, firing the first three shots of the game, with the third one proving to be the charm as she dunked one in over Wilmington goalie Karalyne Brown . The Thunder then capitalized on a Quaker turnover and Mammel hit another shot from close range. Less than two minutes later, Trine was back on their end once again, and Mammel with an assist from junior Darcy Little (Williamsburg, Ohio/Williamsburg) this time had a hat-trick in a span of just under five minutes.
The 3-0 lead would prove important as it would be 3-2 after fouls on senior Emily Canepa (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) and Little led to two quick goals by Wilmington. Canepa and sophomore Kassi Armstrong (Homewood, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) responded with scores on the next two Thunder offensive possessions. After seven goals scored in seven minutes, the scoring would slow down for as both teams possessed the ball but failed to create a shot. Eventually, Trine sophomore Taylor Gast (Akron, Ind./Tippecanoe Valley) broke through the Wilmington defense and put one between the pipes. The Thunder had a 4-2 run to close the half, as they seemingly dominated their opponent on end yet couldn’t get a stop on the other.
Wilmington would play much better in the second after a 13-6 first half score. They were in a dead heat with Trine in every statistical category except the seven to five results on the scoreboard. Freshman Bronti Belanger (Haslett, Mich./Haslett) and Canepa came up big in the first ten minutes of the half, combining for three goals, the second coming off a Canepa feed to Belanger. A seven goal halftime lead proved to be as close as Wilmington would get for the remainder of the game, despite the Quakers best efforts. Trine built their lead to 20-9 with eight minutes left before two goals late rounded out the scoring.
In goal for the Thunder, sophomore Grace Garrett (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) earned her first win on the season stopping nine shots on the night.
Trine will return to action on April 6 when they travel to Alma for the first-ever MIAA conference game beginning at 1:00 p.m.
