HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Juniata women's lacrosse team fell to conference opponent Catholic 18-7 on Thursday afternoon at Gibbel Stadium.
Grace Gibbs and Skyler Stevens totaled two goals each for the Eagles, as Peyton Goodrich, Shannon Para, and Kyndall Yeager added one goal each. Gibbs also had two assists, six ground balls, and five caused turnovers. Goodrich contributed three groundballs, while Maeve Kuser totaled two groundballs and three caused turnovers.
The Cardinals kicked things off early in the game and scored six goals before the Eagles could fight back. With three minutes to go, Shayla Lapp worked around her defender to connect with Stevens, who was cutting in front of the goal. Stevens didn't even have to turn all the way around to find the back of the net to get JC on the board. The Cardinals added one more before the first quarter was over, making the score 7-1.
Stevens scored her second goal to begin the second quarter. Swarmed with Catholic defenders, Stevens worked her way around the crease and shot underhand past the legs of the goalie. Catholic responded with another goal before Yeager was able to rip a free-position shot into the net. The Cardinals scored two more, and the Eagles headed into halftime down 10-3.
Catholic started the third quarter off with a goal. With ten minutes to go in the third, Gibbs drew her defender toward her on the right side of the field and passed the ball to Goodrich, who was cutting to the middle. Fighting for room against three defenders, Goodrich shot one over several defenders to cut the deficit to 7 goals. Wanting one for herself, Gibbs received the ball in the middle of the field and danced around the Catholic defenders to score her first goal of the game. Catholic tallied one goal in between the Eagles' goals. With a little over a minute to go, Gibbs found a wide-open Para right in front of the net. Para quickly turned and shot past the goalie. The Cardinals added one more before the quarter ended, causing the Eagles to be down 13-6 headed into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter saw five Catholic goals in a row before Gibbs added her second of the game with six minutes left. After the draw, Gibbs turned and raced down the center of the field and ripped one right past the goaltender's head and closing the score at 18-7.
Chloe Gerhard tallied seven saves on the day for the Eagles.
The Juniata women's lacrosse team is headed to Susquehanna next Wednesday, April 12, for a 6:00 pm start.
