Box Score DENVER, Colo. - On a very snowy Thursday afternoon, the Regis University women's lacrosse team (5-1, 0-0 RMAC) hosted McKendree University (2-3, 1-0 GLIAC) for a non-conference matchup and came out with the 15-5 victory.
Despite the snow, Regis was on fire both offensively and defensively. The Rangers netted the first three goals of the game as freshman Wendy Donier scored two of the goals and senior Erin Todd added another to give RU a 3-0 lead eight minutes into the first half.
MU was able to get on the board in the 10th minute, but the home team responded with three more goals of their own to put them up 6-1 with nearly six minutes left in the half. Todd, senior Emily Elkins, and sophomore Rachael Walker netted all combined to extend the Regis lead.
Goals from Todd and Elkins gave the Rangers an 8-2 advantage heading into the halftime break. Donier, Elkins, Walker, sophomore Jada Bonner, seniors Hilary Duda and Melissa Hastie all picked up assists in the opening half.
After the break, RU continued to pummel the Bearcats as they scored four unanswered goals to begin the half. Walker, Duda, Hastie and junior Anna Takushi contributed to the opening 4-0 run that the home team put together in the first 14 minutes of the second half.
MU managed to score two goals, one minute apart from each other, to bring the Regis lead to 13-5 in the final three minutes of regulation. The Rangers closed out the game with goals from Duda, and sophomore Stephanie Bayer to close out the Bearcats 15-5.
In the very slippery and cold conditions, both teams had trouble keeping possession of the ball, but RU managed five less turnovers on the day, 12-17. Regis dominated the ground game scooping up 24 ground balls to seven for the visitors. The Rangers also outshot the Bearcats 44-13 but MU made 14 saves. RU went 11-12 on their clear attempts, while holding the visitors to 7-13 on their clear attempts. Sophomore Kenley Harrington improved to 5-1 on the year, making three saves in the game, limiting the Bearcat offensive opportunities.
The women's lacrosse team will return to action this weekend as they host Fort Lewis College (4-2, 1-1 RMAC) on Saturday, March 19 at 1 p.m. If the snow continues to fall, and the Regis Lacrosse Field is not playable, the game will be moved to Dick's Sporting Goods park.
