CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Wittenberg women's lacrosse team at last opened their season, and did so with a commanding 16-1 victory over Mount St. Joseph.
After having to cancel the originally scheduled season opener against Berry College at home in Springfield on Saturday, Feb. 28, the Tigers routed the Lions by outscoring their opponents 11-1 in the first period.
The victory marks the first for first-year head coach Nicholle St. Pierre at the reins of a collegiate program.
The Tigers outshot their hosts 25-12 over the course of the game, and were a perfect 10-for-10 on clears while committing seven fewer turnovers than MSJ.
Leading the way in scoring were senior Beth Hubbard (West Hartford, Conn./Notre Dame de Sion (Mo.)) and junior Olivia Lash (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights), who scored four goals apiece. Hubbard added an assist but trailed in the points race behind sophomore Becca Joseph (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula), who finished with two goals and became just the 12th player in team history to total at least five assists, one off the school record of six.
Junior Carrie Kubasta (Medina, Ohio/Medina) notched five points in the game with two goals and three assists. Senior Logan Warye (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) scored three times, senior Megan Loofbourrow (Prospect, Ky./Ballard) scored twice and freshman Victoria Zysik (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) took care of one goal and one assist.
Warye topped the ground ball charts with five, ahead of Kubasta with three and junior Sara Ellis (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich./Grosse Pointe South) with two. Warye also delivered five caused turnovers, putting her name in the second-place slot in the school's single-game record book for the third time.
In goal, junior Katie Reuter (Cleveland, Ohio/Hathaway Brown) picked up the victory by allowing just one goal with three saves in the first 30 minutes of the game. Freshman Faith Mahnke (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) took over after halftime and stopped three shots in 30 shutout minutes.
The Tigers next head to the Rocky Mountains for a contest with Colorado College on Monday, March 9, at 6 p.m.
John Strawn '07