Coming off of a decisive 19-1 victory against West Virginia Wesleyan in its home opener a week earlier, the SRU women’s lacrosse team hit the road for a Sunday afternoon non-conference meeting in Painesville, Ohio. Slippery Rock, placed 20th in the Nike/US Lacrosse Magazine Division II national poll, faced a Lake Erie College squad that was projected by its league’s coaches to finish first in this year’s Great Midwest Athletic Conference. The Storm had not beaten the green-and-white in their four previous convenings, a streak that was upheld with an 18-13 SRU win.
Lake Erie, which compiled a 10-5 record last season en route to reaching the G-MAC playoffs, controlled the game’s opening draw, but an SRU clear a little over a minute later led to an offensive tally by redshirt senior Ally Culhane. The Storm was quick to counter, tying the score at one and then taking the advantage with a second goal 24 seconds later. After two more minutes, the score was even at three prior to an eight-goal run by the Rock. Both junior Danie Porath and Culhane netted two goals while sophomore ShyAnne Toomer and junior Tia Torchia pitched in.
For the second straight game, the Rock commanded a comfortable lead at the break, holding a 13-4 benefit over Lake Erie. The lead was extended by two following halftime and the Rock defense held steady, allowing only four goals in the 15 minutes that followed. Despite a late six-goal push by the Storm in the final nine minutes, the SRU women earned a happy trip home.
Slippery Rock’s offense held the advantage in total shots and shots on goal and also had an impressive four women score multiple goals. Culhane led the team in scoring with her first five goals of the young season while Toomer put four in Lake Erie’s net. Torchia had a hat trick and paced the team with five draw controls, and Porath had a two-goal contribution.
The team and head coach Kelsey Van Alstyne will hope to continue its early-season success Saturday when it visits the University of Virgina at Wise for the third of four non-conference games to open the 2018 season.
