OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The third-ranked Salisbury University women's lacrosse team started the 2026 campaign with a victory over the Stevenson University Mustangs 13-5 in Wednesday evening's affair inside Mustang Stadium.
The Sea Gulls (1-0) got on the board first on their first touch of the season as
Lauren Hackett connected with
Audrey Harrington. After the Mustangs (0-1) responded goal,
Avery Dunbar fed
Miranda Mears with a pass that clipped off Mears' cross and into the back of the cage. Dunbar located Hackett a minute later, and Harrington closed out the frame with a left-handed finish to make it 4-2 in favor of the visitors.
Neither defense blinked for the first 11 minutes of the second stanza, until Dunbar went all alone on a breakaway to end the scoring drought. Olivia Galati's free position shot put Stevenson back within two, however, Dunbar struck again to make it 6-3 Sea Gulls at the half.
The Maroon and Gold picked up where they left off to begin the third.
Julianna Ott, Hackett and
Grace Doyle blitzed the Mustangs to extend the advantage to six, prompting a Stevenson timeout. Dunbar located
Leah Doy to get Salisbury up to double digits.
The Sea Gulls outpaced the Mustangs 3-1 in the final 15 minutes of play. Ott ran the fastbreak, leading to a Mears score, Ott potted in a second of the night and
Olivia Fitzsimmons received a pass from
Lily Schurr to round out the scoring for Salisbury.
GAME NOTES
- Dunbar recorded her first career hat trick and gave out three assists to mark a new career high.
- Ott and Hackett each netted two goals and dished out an assist. Ott added in a team-leading six draw controls.
- Harrington found the back of the cage twice.
- Doy, Fitzsimmons, Doyle, and Mears chipped in a score each. Doyle and Abby Fleishell led the squad with two caused turnovers.
- Lauren Wunder and Regan McDonnell each picked up three ground balls.
- Paige Ellis and Jaclyn each made two stops.
- The Sea Gulls outshot the Mustangs 31-15, finished 19-of-21 on clear attempts, won the ground ball battle 17-11 and won 11 of the 20 draws in the contest.
The Sea Gulls head to the nation's capital to take on Catholic on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming), Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse), State University of New York Athletic Conference (field hockey), and Colonial Women's Golf Conference (women's golf). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have won a combined 23 team national championships, 24 individual national championships, and 206 conference championships, and have produced 54 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
