WILKES-BARRE, Pa.- An eight-goal rout in the first period set the stage for a 22-1 victory over Wilkes by the Juniata women's lacrosse team on Saturday afternoon.
Grace Gibbs and Peyton Goodrich each contributed towards six goals, with Gibbs scoring a single-game high for the season of six goals, while Goodrich scored three goals and three assists. The three assists are a career-high. Kyndall Yeager also contributed three assists, while Kelliann Drummond also scored a career-high four goals in the contest.
The team's ground ball leader in the game was Nikole Koenig, with four. In defense, Maeve Kuser led the team with three caused turnovers, while three Eagles amassed four draw controls (Isabella Michener, Goodrich, Gibbs). The Juniata defense kept shots faced for Chloe Gerhard low, as she faced five shots in three periods of service, saving four out of five.
Yeager opened the scoring five minutes into play with an unassisted goal as she cut left and fired over the goaltender's left shoulder from a few yards out. Gibbs scored her first goal two minutes later, as Yeager found her cutting through the middle of the Colonels' defense for a close-range shot. From there, the Eagles rallied with six more goals over the next four minutes.
The third goal came as Michaela Naccarini found Goodrich storming through the Wilkes defense, followed by an assisted Gibbs goal for a 4-0 lead. This was followed by the first goal of the season for Naccarini, unassisted, and Drummond's first of the day as she fired from the right side from a few yards away following a Michener pass. Shannon Para then scored, cutting laterally in front of the goal from the left side. Drummond scored her second of the game to wrap up Juniata's scoring in the first period. Wilkes pulled one goal back with two minutes remaining, but it was the only goal of the day.
The second period saw five unanswered goals from Juniata, with two from Goodrich, two from Gibbs, and one from Michener. Two of Juniata's four free-position goals came in the second, and they carried a 13-1 advantage into the break.
Juniata tacked on four more goals in the third period, with two more from Gibbs, another from Drummond, and Skyler Stevens, receiving a pass from Gwen DeLeva in front of the net and beating her defender and the goaltender from just a couple of yards out.
The fourth period saw five more goals, including a pair from Aspen Handel with assists from Goodrich and Yeager, DeLeva's first of the season on a Stevens pass, a man-down goal from Stevens with the favor returned via a DeLeva pass, and an unassisted man-up goal for Drummond in the waning seconds.
Juniata ended the game outshooting the Colonels 41-7, with 26 ground balls to 15 from Wilkes. They were also superior in draw controls, 14-11.
The Eagles play a midweek nonconference game on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. as they venture to Frederick, Maryland, to play Hood College. The Blazers hold the advantage in the matchup with two victories in Juniata's first two years as a program (2018-19).
