NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After surrendering a goal to Longwood in the opening minutes of the game, No. 19 Vanderbilt responded with nine straight goals en route to a 17-8 win at the VU Lacrosse Complex on Wednesday.

"It's just good to see our team get on track," said Vanderbilt Head Coach Cathy Swezey. "The nice thing is that we were able to play all of our players and maintain a certain level of intensity. We just need to learn to bring that to every game and not hold back like we have been."

Tewaaraton Trophy candidate Sarah Downing was strong again for the 'Dores, scoring a team-high four goals while recording two ground balls.

A total of ten Commodores scored goals in Vanderbilt's first ever matchup against Longwood. Along with Downing, Katherine Denkler, Carter Foote, and Hannah Clark each had two or more goals. Freshmen Olivia Goodman and Carly Linthicum both picked up their first career goals in the win.

Defensively, Ally Carey paced Vanderbilt, finishing with three draw controls, two caused turnovers, and two ground balls. Sophomore Alex Priddy totaled two draw controls and three ground balls. Sophomore Kacie Connors also added three caused turnovers for the contest.

Sophomore goalkeeper Natalie Wills picked up her second win of the 2010 season. Seeing her first ever game action, freshman Chelsea Pasfield picked up five saves in the second half to help close out the win.

The Commodores will return to action on Saturday at the VU Lacrosse Complex to host Boston University. Game time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CT.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Longwood University women's lacrosse team fell at #19 Vanderbilt University on Wednesday afternoon in Nashville, Tennessee. Junior Karli Brentlinger/Gambrills, Md. (South River) led Longwood (1-3) with three goals and one assist. The Lancers return to action on Saturday, March 13, when they travel to Emmitsburg, Maryland to take on Mount St. Mary's University at 1:00 p.m..

The Lancers struck first when Karli Brentlinger scored just 1:11 in to the game off a pass from junior Kesley Dean/Centreville, Md. (Queen Anne's) to take the 1-0 lead. Vanderbilt (2-3) scored the next nine goals over a 15 minute stretch to take a 9-1 lead with 11:51 remaining in the half. Karli Brentlinger found the net again, but the Commodores scored three more goals to lead 12-2 with 6:35 remaining in the half.

Junior Morgan Illian/Salisbury, Md. (Parkside) and senior Carlie Nethken/Hanover, Md. (Long Reach) scored back-to-back goals to make the score 12-4 with 2:13 remaining in the first half. Vanderbilt added one more goal before halftime to take a 13-4 lead in to the break.

In the second half, Longwood struck first when junior Cara O'Brien/Arlington (Bishop?O'Connell) scored before Vanderbilt answered. Karli Brentlinger added her third goal of the day with 17:02 remaining in the game and made the score 14-6. Vanderbilt scored two more goals before freshman Jamie Brentlinger/Odenton, Md. (Arundel) and Illian scored to make the final score 17-8.

Karli Brentlinger led Longwood with three goals and one assist. Illian added two goals and three ground balls while junior Duan Wright/Church Hill, Md. (Queen Anne's) collected a team-high four ground balls. Junior Juli Liebig/Centreville, Md. (Queen Anne's) played almost 40 minutes in goal and stopped eight shots while allowing 10 goals.

Vanderbilt was led by Sarah Downing with four goals and one assist while Katherine Denkle added three goals with two assists.

2010-03-10