ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University women's lacrosse team outscored Wittenberg University 3-1 in the fourth quarter of a 10-8 victory on Saturday afternoon at Shive Field. The Thunder got eight points from junior Calista Richmond to help secure the victory (three goals, five assists). The Thunder are now 5-2 on the year while the Tigers of Wittenberg fall back to .500 at 4-4 overall.
Courtney Rhodes and Brooke Hoag netted the first two goals of the game for Trine, but Wittenberg rattled off three in a row in the final two minutes of play in a 3-2 first quarter.
Danielle Gargiulo immediately responded with a score less than one minute into the second to draw even. Rhodes and Alyssa Keptner added on later in the frame, all off of feeds by Richmond. At the half, the score read 5-4 in favor of the Thunder with the Tigers finding the back of the net with just 30 seconds remaining in the period.
A long scoreless drought for Trine allowed Wittenberg to go ahead 7-5, but Alyssa Lahutsky and Richmond tied the score at seven going into the final 15 minutes of play. While a man up, Richmond found a cutting Rhodes for a goal and Gargiulo would do the same for Richmond early in the fourth to go up 9-7. After the Tigers drew to within one, Richmond gave the team insurance with a score just under the five-minute mark to make it a 10-8 game. The result would stay there as the defense stood tall in the closing minutes.
Rhodes matched Richmond with three goals in the game to tie for the team lead. Hoag commanded the draw control circle with six in total and a team-high three caused turnovers defensively. Hoag and Elizabeth Larson each picked up three ground balls. Maddy Kasten (5-2) made seven saves on the day.
Trine would outshoot the Tigers 33-17 after winning 14 of 20 draw controls. The team forced 19 turnovers and had just 17 themselves.
It is a short turnaround for the team as they play Mount St. Joseph University at home on Sunday, March 24 at 4 p.m.