San Antonio, Texas – Yesterday's non-conference women's lacrosse action between St. Mary's College of Maryland and Swarthmore College turned out to be quite the shootout, as both teams combined for 37 goals on the afternoon. The Seahawks prevailed in the end, coming away with a 21-16 victory.

The two teams also tallied a combined 55 turnovers and, unfortunately, St. Mary's held the margin there as well, making 31 to the Garnet's 24.

Three Seahawks finished with six points on the day as junior midfielder Lauren Carrier (Crownsville, Md./Old Mill) led the way with six goals, while sophomore attackers Kelsey Branch (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford) and Nora Fallon-Oben (Silver Spring, Md./St. John's College [D.C.]) each notched four goals and two assists apiece.

Seventeen goals were netted in the first half as St. Mary's (5-2) posted a 10-7 lead at halftime. There were seven ties in the first 30 minutes with the last one coming at 5:36 (7-7) following Fallon-Oben's first goal of the match. A second consecutive goal from Fallon-Oben and back-to-back goals from Branch gave the Seahawks a three-goal cushion at intermission.

SMCM put together a 10-4 run to start the second stanza which gave the Seahawks their biggest advantage (21-12) of the game with 4:34 left in the game. The deficit was too much for Swarthmore to overcome despite four straight goals in a two-minute span.

The Garnet (1-2) were led in scoring by freshman midfielder Amy Vachal (Somerset, N.J./Rutgers Prep) who poured in six points on five goals and an assist. Sophomore midfielder Abbe Muller (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) tallied three goals, while senior defender Megan Sanborn (Lewiston, N.Y./Nichols School) added two goals and an assist.

The Seahawks edged Swarthmore in every category: shots (37-34), ground balls (26-24), and draw controls (21-18). Sophomore defender Karissa Carroll (Long Island, N.Y./Ward Melville) and Carrier teamed up for a total of 11 draw controls with six and five, respectively.

Freshman Ella Schoming (Westminster, Md./North Carroll) made 13 saves in goal to keep St. Mary's ahead in the game. Senior Susannah Blair (Princeton, N.J./Princeton Day) had nine stops in the Garnet loss.

The Seahawks will put their three-game winning streak to the test this coming Sunday when St. Mary's entertains No. 5 The College of New Jersey at 1:00 in Seahawk Stadium.

Box Score

2008-03-13