CHICAGO, Ill. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's lacrosse team was back on the road for their second game of their three-game road trip on Saturday as they faced Illinois Institute of Technology. After an explosive first period, the Blugolds kept their lead throughout the contest and flew past the IIT Scarlet Hawks, 19-10.
Becky Goetsch (Fr. – Maple Grove, MN) led the UW-Eau Claire offensive from the beginning with an opening goal at the 12:04 mark of the first quarter. Riley Domagala (So. – Bloomington, MN/Jefferson) and Lydia Wickersham (Fr. – Janesville, WI) followed suit later in the period to increase the Eau Claire lead to 3-0.
The second quarter featured a closer contest between the two nonconference opponents as the Hawks shortened their deficit to just one goal with four minutes left before halftime. The Blugolds responded promptly with three goals in the final two minutes to increase their lead to 9-5 at the half.
After the intermission, Illinois Tech opened the scoring in the third to bring some momentum back to the home squad, but Eau Claire would not break. Gracie Bowman (Fr. – Mankato, MN) and Samantha Burns (Fr. – Mahtomedi, MN) tallied two unanswered goals each in a five-minute span to raise their lead to 14-7. IIT scored twice more before the end of the third quarter to bring the score line to 14-9 as the teams entered the final frame.
A quick 3-0 run in the fourth sealed the deal for Eau Claire as Domagala, Burns, and Ruby Porzorski (Fr. – Burnsville, MN) all tallied goals in the first four minutes of the quarter to push the score to 17-9. Domagala posted the final tally with 15 seconds left in the game for a 19-10 final from Stuart Field. Samantha Burns led the Blugolds with five goals during the game and Beck Goetsch was close behind with four and two assists.
After the game Head Coach Aubri Neubert praised her team's ability to score quick and often. "I definitely think it is a momentum thing. Once you get that first goal, it gives us a boost and a drive to go get the next one right away."
Alexandria Shea (Fr. – Kenosha, WI) stopped nine of the of the 19 shots she faced as she improves to 3-0 on the year. "Alex has played incredible for us so far this year and we are lucky to have her", Neubert said. "We think that she is one of the best, if not the best, goalie in the region and her ability to almost act as an extra defender is substantial to our game plan."
Shea also had high remarks for her teammates' performances after the squad's third win of the season. "Our team is playing very good to start and that allows me to be more comfortable in net", Shea said. "Our goal is to continue to stick to our game plan and play solid defense to finish off the weekend in a big way."
The Blugolds (3-0) will faceoff with Illinois Tech again on Sunday, March 6th at 10AM in Chicago, IL.
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