The Lynx arrived in Baltimore, "the lacrosse capital of the world," and ventured around Virginia, ending up with a 1-2 record over their spring break trip. They first took on the Christopher Newport University Captains in a tough battle.
The Captains scored 4 unanswered goals to start the game, with senior Avery Burke disrupting their run with an assist by Molly Martiner, getting points on the board for the Lynx. The Captains held the Lynx scoreless in the second quarter, leaving the halftime score at 14-1. The Lynx knew there was a fight to be had as sophomore Nur Hamada started off the third quarter with a woman-up goal. Following, Avery Burke received a pass from Chloe Parker, burying the ball in the back of the net to chip away at the score. Riley Schutt finished the game with her first career goal on a free-position shot, making the final score 19-4 in favor of the Captains.
The defense held the Captains to only 2 goals in the third quarter and only 3 in the fourth. Senior Julia Dalessandro led the team in caused turnovers with 2, while goalie Olivia Wood led the team in ground balls with 3. Her save percentage ended at .34, facing 29 shots on goal by the captains.
Wednesday rolled around and the Lynx took on the St. Mary College (IN) Belle's and capitalized right off the bat.
The Lynx were able to really get into the swing of things after senior Chloe Parker set the tone with a goal assisted by Molly Martiner in the first two minutes of the game. The Belles were able to answer with a goal after an offensive domination from the Lynx, bringing the score to 6-1 to end the first quarter. The Belles went unanswered in the second quarter as seven different Lynx scored goals, bringing the halftime score to 16-1.
Entering into the 2nd half, the Lynx midfield worked hard to win possession of the ball right off the draw. Resulting in 17 collective draw controls, the Lynx were able to get a head of steam right to the cage. Sophomore Caroline Kardian led with 7 DC's, and first-year Maddie BeVier tallied 4 DC's. The Lynx were able to stay composed on defense, resulting in 14 caused turnovers. Junior Bari Pinkett led with 4 CT's and 5 ground balls. Junior Olivia Wood had a total of 6 saves, taking on 11 shots.
As time started to run down, first-year Issa Albritton caused the Belles to have a failed clear attempt and was able to take the goalie 1v1, resulting in her first collegiate goal. Junior Maddy Recker had a season high of 5 points (2 G and 3 A). 12 different Lynx were able to put up numbers on the board to bring the final score to 20-3.
To finish the week, the Lynx took on the Shenandoah Hornets before returning to Memphis. To start the game, the Hornets came out firing, scoring the first two goals, but the Lynx were not far behind. Avery Burke and Anna Erskine allowed the Lynx to take the lead. The Hornets scored four unanswered goals until senior Chloe Parker scored the next two goals for the Lynx, ending the first quarter at 7-4 in favor of the Hornets.
Chloe Parker scored twice in the second quarter with assists from senior Molly Martiner, leaving the halftime score at 12-6. Going into the third quarter, the Lynx and their opponent scored evenly, as Avery Burke and Molly Martiner went unassisted. Anna Erskine came back into the mix with an assist from Madison Recker, leaving the score going into the fourth quarter at 15-9.
Avery Burke was the only Lynx to score in the fourth quarter, as she had 4 goals on the day, with Chloe Parker finishing with a hat-trick. The defense held the Hornets to a final score of 19-10, with senior defender Isabella Sklena recording 4 ground balls and Avery Burke leading the defense in caused turnovers with 3. Olivia Wood held down the defensive end with 12 saves on the day while Sophomore Caroline Kardian grabbed 4 draw controls to give the Lynx their offensive opportunities throughout the game.
The Lynx had a successful weekend in Virginia Beach and are excited to have their home opener on Sunday, March 24th, against Sewanee: The University of the South at 1:30 PM.
