After travelling 1,400 miles and falling to the Southwestern Pirates 20-9 last season in Texas, John Carroll women's lacrosse wanted to return the favor.
The Blue Streaks came out victorious on Friday night despite a rainy and cold atmosphere.
Gina Vilsack and
Jillian Millard each scored four goals in the 18-8 Blue and Gold victory.
JCU moves to 6-2 on the season, while SU now carries an 8-7 mark.
The Blue Streaks got after it early on in the game. Within the first three minutes of play, JCU was on the board twice, courtesy of Millard and Vilsack. Southwestern midfielder Emma Albin retaliated a minute later to score one for the Pirates.
With 23:27 on the clock,
Brooke McQuinn went coast-to-coast to rip in a shot to put the Blue Streaks up 3-1. But once again, the Pirates fired back to close the gap. This back-and-forth action only lasted one more cycle until the Blue and Gold pulled away. Four Blue Streaks managed to score four goals in four minutes to give them a slight cushion, leading 8-3.
Kate Davis and Allison Cook each scored a goal for the Pirates before the end of the half, but the Blue Streaks put up triple that to give them a 14-5 lead going into the second half. It was the most goals scored by the Blue Streaks in the first half of a game this season; it trails only a 16-goal effort against Defiance last season on Mar. 31, 2015.
Seven different Blue Streaks scored in the opening half, led by Millard with four and Vilsack with three.
John Carroll ran away with the game in the second half, only allowing the Pirates to score three more goals to make their eight goals total. Davis scored two and Courtney Ragland grabbed her second of the night.
Throughout the game, John Carroll controlled 18 of the 27 total draws. The Blue and Gold grabbed 28 ground balls compared to the Pirates' 11.
This was the second consecutive game that JCU held their opponent under ten goals, and the third time in 2016. The Blue Streaks will travel to Wilmington College on Sat., Apr. 9 to start Ohio Athletic Conference play.
