Vanderbilt Defeats Northwestern 15-8

The Vanderbilt Lacrosse Team defeated fellow American Lacrosse Conference rival, Northwestern on Tuesday night in the Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex. Entering the game with a 2-3 record and a 0-1 mark in the ALC, the Commodores were looking to tarnish the 5-1 record of the Northwestern Wildcats.

With a starting lineup that brought some fresh faces to the foreground, the Commodores shined on both the offensive and defensive ends of the game. Junior defender, Joanna Mooney picked up three ground balls, caused three of Northwestern’s turnovers, as well as scored one goal for Vanderbilt. But the top offensive stylings that would show up in this contest would be those of junior midfielder, Jessica Roguski.

Stepping up to plate, Roguski scored an outstanding six goals on the Wildcats’
defense. This is quite a difference from what we have seen from Roguski this
season. With just one goal and one assist after five games, one might wonder
what made this contest any different from the others?

"With three already disappointing loses, we needed this win. I knew I could
step it up… not only for me, but mostly for the team," Roguski says with a
humbled tone. "We all played as a unit, helping each other to succeed. It took
the pressure off of the individual and placed it on us as a whole."

With Vanderbilt’s improved team-unified attitude, a slew of players from
Vanderbilt’s strong offense would penetrate Northwestern’s defense to score.
Junior attacker Lauren Peck added two goals, as did senior attacker Colleen
Morris. Junior attacker, Michelle Allen had one goal and assisted in the
scoring of four more. Sophmore, Meg Spies also had one goal and helped the
Commodores with two assists. Kate Hickman had one goal as well as one assist
and Tara Schmucker scored once for the ‘Dores.

In a post-game meeting with the team, Head Coach, Cathy Swezey, praised the team for fighting hard for a full sixty minutes. Calling attention to the
prominent team unity, she commented on how the efforts of the individuals all
added up to form one team endeavor, which ultimately would aide Vanderbilt in
the win today.

This win evens out Vanderbilt’s ALC record to 1-1 and also evens out their
regular season record as well, 3-3.

Vanderbilt’s next opportunity to compete comes on Sunday, March 30, as the
Commodores will meet with Hopkins at 1:00pm in the Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex.