EWING, NJ – The first-ranked Salisbury University women's lacrosse program faced its largest deficit of the season, but shut out No. 12 TCNJ in the final 39 minutes of play and scored six straight tallies to fend off the Lions 6-4 in Saturday afternoon's top-20 showdown at the TCNJ Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex.
The Lions (10-2, 2-0) went ahead 4-0 with 9:34 remaining in the second quarter, before the Sea Gulls (14-0, 1-0 C2C) got on the board from
Avery Dunbar, who found the bottom right corner of the cage just over a minute remaining in the first half.
Dunbar helped get SU within two by feeding a cutting
Regan McDonnell at the 12:59 mark in the third quarter. Salisbury evened the score after
Miranda Mears scored two goals in a 1:14 span.
The Maroon and Gold killed off two green cards to start the final frame before
Audrey Harrington connected with
Leah Doy to give SU their first lead of the contest with 11:16 remaining. After the Sea Gulls' defense strung together multiple stops, Dunbar and Doy partnered up with just over 90 seconds to play to ice the game to secure the come-from-behind victory.
GAME NOTES
- Avery Dunbar led the way for the Sea Gulls with one goal and two assists.
- Miranda Mears and Leah Doy each potted a pair of goals. Doy recorded her third career two-goal outing and third game-winning goal this season.
- Abby Fleishell tied a career-high with five caused turnovers and dug out a career-best six ground balls. The Sea Gulls caused a season-high 21 turnovers.
- Regan McDonnell found the back of the cage to go along with four draw controls and four caused turnovers.
- Grace Doy claimed two ground balls and caused two Lions errors.
- Paige Ellis picked up the win in the cage and made six saves
- The Sea Gulls outshot the Lions 24-12, won the ground ball battle 21-17, went 17-for-20 on clear attempts and induced TCNJ into 27 total turnovers.
The Sea Gulls return home to host their Morgan's Message Game against St. Mary's (Md.) inside Sea Gull Stadium 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 207 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.
