The Elon women’s lacrosse team opened its season with a win Saturday, Jan. 31 against the Kennesaw State University Owls. Shaking off the rust was not too challenging for the Phoenix who set a new program record for goals scored in a game with 24. Elon won 24-8.
From the opening minutes of the contest, the Phoenix did not waste anytime attacking the net on offense. In the first six minutes the Phoenix had scored five goals, while not even allowing a Kennesaw State shot on goal.
The Elon offense seemed to be penetrating the Kennesaw State defense at will, resulting in wide open shots on goal for the Phoenix. The tremendous offensive play could partially be accredited to the outstanding performance from the Elon midfield, which accounted for 16 of Elon’s 24 goals.
Freshman midfielder Stephanie Asher led the offense with five goals –including three consecutive goals for the Phoenix in the second half. Behind her were sophomores Anna Vitton and Sloane Kessler, and freshmen Kelsey Dupere and Jacie Cooper who all had three goals.
Although not getting much action, the Elon defense was prepared when it was challenged. Each time Kennesaw State would drive to the net, two Elon defenders would stop the charge, denying penetration to the goal. The excellent defensive play by Elon resulted in only 12 shots on goal in the contest.
Sophomore goalie Rachel Ramirez played for 43:53 minutes before being replaced by freshman Tori Cipollone, who finished the game in net. Together the goalies had four saves (3-Ramirez, 1-Cippollone) and only allowed eight goals (5-Ramirez, 3-Cipollone) on 13 total shots. They had a combined 33.3 save percentage.
Looking forward the Phoenix will return home on Saturday, Feb. 7 to take on the Duke University Blue Devils at 1 pm.