DENVER, Colo. – On Saturday afternoon two of the top-three teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) clashed in a matchup of two top-12 teams in the county. The No. 10 ranked Regis University women's lacrosse team (11-0, 4-0 RMAC) demolished the No. 12 ranked Colorado Mesa University Mavericks (10-2, 4-2 RMAC) 23-10 in their best performance of the season thus far.
How It Happened: Regis put together their best game of the season thus far with an amazing performance against the No. 12 ranked team in the country. Redshirt-junior
Jessica Berg got things started as she drew first blood with a goal 2:56 into the game, but one minute later the Mavericks responded with a goal of their own.
Both teams got another goal to tie the game at two goals apiece before the Rangers would net 11 of the next 12 goals to take their first 10-goal lead of the game, 13-3. The two teams combined for 22 goals in the first half and RU took a huge 15-7 lead into the halftime break.
Not as many goals were scored in the second half, but the Regis offense and defense continued to dominate on both sides of the field. The Rangers opened the half with back-to-back goals from junior
Ali Vanek and senior
Grace Rosenthal to take a 17-7 lead. Between the 21:08 and 7:33 marks of the second half, RU scored six unanswered goals to take their largest lead of the game, 23-8.
Seniors
Sarah Myres (3) and
Wendy Donier (2), and junior
Andrea Macalalad (1) each contributed goals during the 6-0 stretch to give the home team such a major advantage. CMU managed to score the final two goals of the game including a free-position attempt that went in right before the horn sounded. Regis left with a 23-10 win over another ranked opponent, their fifth of the season.
Game Notes: Myres continues to flash her brilliance, showing out on one of the biggest stages of the season. She posted 10 points, one shy of her career-high of 11, with eight goals and two assists. Myres' eight goals matched a career-high, which she set last season against Fort Lewis College. Senior
Wendy Donier had her best game of the season with a season-best eight points, five goals and three assists. Vanek (2 G, 3 A, 1 DC), sophomore
Kyleigh Peoples (2 G, 2 A, 1 GB, 2 CT, 5 DC), freshman
Lucy Johnson (2 G, 1 A) and Berg (2G, 3 GB, 4 CT, 4 DC) all tallied two goals in the game.
In net, sophomore
Elle Crawford made three saves in 47:00, earning her 11
thwin of the season. Senior
Hope Correia came in and stopped four shots in her 13:00 in between the pipes. Overall, the Rangers held advantages in shots (37-26), shots on goal (31-17), turnovers (17-27) and ground balls (29-18). Both teams had 17 draw controls in the match. Junior
Katie Schilmoeller and senior
Lauren Hurd led all RU players with five ground balls apiece, and Berg was the team leader with four caused turnovers.
Up Next for the Rangers:The No. 7 ranked Regis University Rangers will be back in action when they face Oklahoma Baptist and No. 4 ranked Lindenwood University next weekend. The game against Oklahoma Baptist will be played at 4 p.m. on April 12. The highly anticipated matchup with the Lions of Lindenwood University will be on April 14 at 1 p.m. in St. Charles, Missouri.
