The Slippery Rock women’s lacrosse team traveled to Biemesderfer Stadium on Friday afternoon for a PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) match-up against Millersville University. In front of a crowd of 215 people, the Rock recovered from an early first-half deficit to notch an important conference win with a final score of 12-10.
The Rock weathered a storm early, falling behind 4-1 with 18:44 left to play in the first half. Freshman attacker Francesca Lindelow recorded the unassisted goal amidst the Marauders’ run.
A trio of goals from senior attacker Bre Vodde and a pair from sophomore midfielder ShyAnne Toomer fueled a 6-2 run to close the first half. At the half, the Rock led by a single goal with a 7-6 edge.
Two more goals coming out of the second half gave the Rock a three-goal cushion that the Marauders’ could never bring back within two. The Rock coasted to a 12-10 victory with no goals scored in the final seven minutes of the game.
The Marauders’ high-octane offense was unable to reach their season average of 16 goals largely in part of senior goalkeeper Emily Bitka’s stellar performance in net. Bitka played the entire game in route to 12 saves including eight on free position chances. Bitka has put together an All-PSAC worthy season as she currently ranks in the top five of all major goalkeeping categories in the conference.
Toomer paced the team with a team-leading four goals while Vodde and redshirt junior midfielder Tia Torchia each recorded a hat trick. Lindelow and junior defender Danie Porath each chipped in with a goal.
Toomer, Torchia and Porath each earned an assist along with their goals. Junior midfielders Erin Brown and Kelly Muenster also recorded an assist each.
The Marauders held the advantage in shots at 26 (22 on goal) opposed to the Rock’s 21 (18 on goal). The Rock doubled up with a 12-6 advantage in saves. The Marauders committed 27 turnovers– three more than The Rock. The Rock held an advantage in groundballs with 30 balls scooped compared to 24 from the Marauders. The Rock only attempted four free position shots opposed to 13 from the Marauders.
With the victory, Slippery Rock moves to 7-3 (.700) with a 3-3 (.500) record in PSAC play. The loss drops Millersville to a 7-3 (.700) record with a 3-4 (.429) conference record.
The Rock will be back in action on Monday, April 9th in Kutztown, PA for a conference match-up with Kutztown University.
