#10 Commodores Blast Bobcats 17-8

Nashville, Tennessee -- The #10 Vanderbilt Commodores (7-2, 3-0 ALC) came into form Friday, defeating the Ohio Bobcats (5-3, 0-2) by a score of 17-8 in American Lacrosse Conference action. Junior Tara Schmucker and sophomore Jess Roguski each had four goals on the day for the Commodores, while sophomore goalkeeper Liz Exline made 12 saves.

The first nine minutes of the game were back and forth, with each team scoring four goals. In the 11th minute, Schmucker completed her first career hat-trick and gave Vanderbilt a lead they would not relinquish.

Over the next 34 minutes, the Commodores held the Bobcats scoreless while rattling off 11 more goals of their own to open up a 16-4 advantage. Vanderbilt allowed a few late goals, but scored in the final ten seconds of the game, giving them the 17-8 victory.

Every Commodore who was available for Head Coach Cathy Swezey saw action on the day. Freshman goalkeeper Ashley Bastinelli missed her second game in a row due to illness. Exline, making only her second career start, played poised behind a solid Vanderbilt defense.

Schmucker's five point performance was a career-high, while sophomore Bridget Morris and freshman Meg Spies each scored their first career goal. Mary McCeney added four points for Vanderbilt, while junior Jeannie Crawley scored her fifth hat-trick of the season; senior Kinsey Osberg also had three points.

"Our team played a very solid game on both sides of the ball today," said Swezey. "I felt very good about the way we attacked the goal. It's also great to be able to give all of our players such valuable, in-game experience."

Vanderbilt travels to North Carolina next weekend to face the Tar Heels on Friday night and the Davidson Wildcats on Sunday.

Goals
VU: Schmucker (4), Roguski (4), Crawley (3), McCeney (2), Osberg, Devlin, B. Morris, Spies.
OU: Hart (4), Gombeski (2), Trocher, Keys.

Assists
VU: Drennan (2), Osberg (2), McCeney (2), Crawley, Schmucker, C. Morris, B. Morris.
OU: Oxman, Menna, Link

Scoring Summary
00:32 VU Schmucker 1-0
01:14 OH Hart (FPS) 1-1
04:16 VU McCeney (Drennan) 2-1
04:58 OU Trocher (Oxman) 2-2
05:41 OU Keys 2-3
07:25 VU Schmucker 3-3
08:08 VU Roguski 4-3
08:41 OU Gombeski (Menna) 4-4
10:25 VU Schmucker 5-4
16:51 VU Roguski (Drennan) 6-4
21:36 VU Crawley 7-4
22:29 VU Crawley (Osberg) 8-4
27:14 VU Roguski (McCeney) 9-4
27:34 VU Spies (McCeney) 10-4
29:15 VU Schmucker (Crawley) 11-4
29:41 VU Crawley (B. Morris) 12-4
32:00 VU B. Morris (FPS) 13-4
34:09 VU McCeney 14-4
35:53 VU Osberg (Schmucker) 15-4
39:40 VU Roguski (Osberg) 16-4
42:00 OU Hart (Link) 16-5
44:30 OU Bombeski 16-6
53:55 OU Hart 16-7
58:48 OU Hart 16-8
59:50 VU Devlin (C. Morris) 17-8

Saves
VU: Exline 12
OU: Cassidy 10