A 12-goal first half propelled Navy to a 16-8 victory over the Boston University women’s lacrosse team Saturday afternoon at Nickerson Field.
A Midshipman (8-4, 3-1 Patriot League) free position chance resulted in their first goal of the game before adding two more within 30 seconds of each other.
“[The] draw control [and] possession area for us was a struggle today,” said BU head coach Lauren Morton. “We got caught a little bit flat and on our heels.”
With just seven draw controls to Navy’s 21, the Terriers (7-4, 2-2 PL) had little opportunity to set the tone.
The Terriers reduced the lead to two when sophomore midfielder Tessa Geddes found the back of the net, but the Midshipmen would more than reestablish their lead and score five unanswered goals in the final five minutes of the period.
Navy scored the first three goals of the second quarter, as Midshipman attack Emma Kennedy secured a hat trick before the Terriers even had a second goal.
It wasn’t until the final three minutes of the quarter that the Terriers added to their score — sophomore attack Izabella Amonte scoring twice.
“We played a little more physical,” Morton said about the second quarter performance. “We were able to make those adjustments in terms of limiting our fouling.”
Amonte was able to complete a hat trick to open the third quarter, netting three of the Terriers’ four goals by that point.
Navy was held scoreless in the third until freshman Alyssa Chung notched another Midshipman hat trick with just over four minutes left.
Late in the period, junior defender Leah Hodgins got one back for the Terriers until Navy’s Chung added her fourth of the game with 11 seconds on the clock.
In the final quarter, Navy scored the first two goals, representing the eighth and ninth different Midshipmen to find the back of the net.
The second half was more even, with BU winning 5-4 but Navy outshooting BU 14-12.
“We wanted to win the second half. Obviously, we put ourselves in a pretty big hole and when you’re not getting possession as much, that becomes that much more apparent,” said Morton.
The Terriers look to bounce back when they travel to Pennsylvania to take on Lehigh University Saturday at noon.