Five Ravens Find Back of Net against Thunder
March 13, 2019
Five Anderson University women's lacrosse players found the back of the net during Tuesday's 14-8 loss to Trine University at Macholtz Stadium.
Anderson (0-3) hung tough with Trine (3-1) for a majority of the match despite playing down a player and missing leading scorer CJ Pinyot (Indianapolis, Ind./Heritage Christian). The Ravens were down just a goal, trailing the Thunder 7-6 with 18 minutes, 8 seconds left in the match.
"I was impressed with how close this game truly was," said Coach Colin McSharar. "The final score indicates otherwise, but we we were within two goals of Trine for about 40 of the 60 minutes. We also played a player short and was missing our leading scorer in CJ. Trine has had a program for several years now and are well coached. The fact that the score was within a few most of the game is impressive. I think if we play this game at full strength, we walk away with the W."
Nadia Bentley (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) led Anderson (0-3) in scoring with three points behind two goals and an assist. Samantha Huber (St. Louis, Mo./Westminster Christian) and Kaitlyn Lawson (Newburgh, Ind./Castle) each netted two goals. Mallory Housman (Evansville, Ind./Memorial) and Hannah Planck (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) each provided a goal and an assist. Alana Weber (Anderson, Ind./The Excel Center) also dished out an assist.
"We had five different players light the lamp, and six players scored points. Hannah is brand new to lacrosse this year, but scored a goal and had an assist. Alana is also new to lacrosse this year and she had an assist. Nadia hasn't played lacrosse in several years, but she led the team in scoring with three points."
Lawson racked up nine draw controls and Huber finished with four draw controls. Huber paced the Ravens with six ground balls while Planck and Bentley collected four ground balls apiece.
Kristin John led the Thunder with seven points behind six goals and an assist. Shea Rayburn delivered three goals. Lauren Hall tallied three points off two goals and an assist. Peri Darmofal provided two goals. Theresa DiMaggio contributed a goal and two assists. Kristen Nguyen added an assist. Alexandra Robinson picked up four ground balls.
Trine's Emily Morthorst saved six of the 14 shots she faced.
Kiaha Nichols (Shipshewana, Ind./Westview) faced 24 shots and came up with 10 saves for the Ravens.
"Kiaha is not just new to lacrosse, but has been playing goalie for a whopping two weeks. [Tuesday] was the second of three games she hit double digits in saves."
Heidelberg University (2-3) powered to an 18-2 advantage on draw controls during last Wednesday's 17-2 victory against Anderson. The Ravens made draw controls a point of emphasis in practice and topped Trine in draw controls by a 16-8 margin. Anderson cleared 16-of-26 (61.5 percent) attempts and tied the Thunder in ground balls with 24 apiece.
"We spent the time between these games focusing solely on clearing, ground balls, and draws. The improvement from the last game to now is unbelievable. We only won two-of-20 draws against Heidelberg, but won 16 of 24 [against Trine]. We tied the ground ball battle, and had a positive clearing difference, even with one less player."
Trine cleared 20-of-21 (95.2 percent) attempts.
John put Trine on the scoreboard during the second minute of the first half with a goal assisted by DiMaggio. Trine scored the next four goals, but Lawson, Planck and Bentley rattled off consecutive goals to cut Anderson's deficit to 5-4. DiMaggio provided a man-up goal with 33 seconds left in the half.
Huber put the Ravens within one score during the third minute of the second half. John capitalized on a transition setup from Nguyen eight minutes into the second half. Huber narrowed Anderson's deficit to 7-6 during the 12th minute of the second half. The Thunder pulled away by scoring the next six goals and seven of the next nine goals.
"For most teams, it's difficult for a bunch of underclassmen to get excited for a game knowing they will be playing a player short. But, not this team. I'm proud that we played hard for the full sixty minutes. These moments are what I live for. We still do have a long way to go. But, what we need to work on is easily fixable. I encourage everyone reading this to come watch in person or online for some inspiring lacrosse to come from this family."
Anderson returns to action on March 31 against Bethany College (1-2) at 1 p.m. at Macholtz Stadium.
Anderson (0-3) hung tough with Trine (3-1) for a majority of the match despite playing down a player and missing leading scorer CJ Pinyot (Indianapolis, Ind./Heritage Christian). The Ravens were down just a goal, trailing the Thunder 7-6 with 18 minutes, 8 seconds left in the match.
"I was impressed with how close this game truly was," said Coach Colin McSharar. "The final score indicates otherwise, but we we were within two goals of Trine for about 40 of the 60 minutes. We also played a player short and was missing our leading scorer in CJ. Trine has had a program for several years now and are well coached. The fact that the score was within a few most of the game is impressive. I think if we play this game at full strength, we walk away with the W."
Nadia Bentley (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) led Anderson (0-3) in scoring with three points behind two goals and an assist. Samantha Huber (St. Louis, Mo./Westminster Christian) and Kaitlyn Lawson (Newburgh, Ind./Castle) each netted two goals. Mallory Housman (Evansville, Ind./Memorial) and Hannah Planck (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) each provided a goal and an assist. Alana Weber (Anderson, Ind./The Excel Center) also dished out an assist.
"We had five different players light the lamp, and six players scored points. Hannah is brand new to lacrosse this year, but scored a goal and had an assist. Alana is also new to lacrosse this year and she had an assist. Nadia hasn't played lacrosse in several years, but she led the team in scoring with three points."
Lawson racked up nine draw controls and Huber finished with four draw controls. Huber paced the Ravens with six ground balls while Planck and Bentley collected four ground balls apiece.
Kristin John led the Thunder with seven points behind six goals and an assist. Shea Rayburn delivered three goals. Lauren Hall tallied three points off two goals and an assist. Peri Darmofal provided two goals. Theresa DiMaggio contributed a goal and two assists. Kristen Nguyen added an assist. Alexandra Robinson picked up four ground balls.
Trine's Emily Morthorst saved six of the 14 shots she faced.
Kiaha Nichols (Shipshewana, Ind./Westview) faced 24 shots and came up with 10 saves for the Ravens.
"Kiaha is not just new to lacrosse, but has been playing goalie for a whopping two weeks. [Tuesday] was the second of three games she hit double digits in saves."
Heidelberg University (2-3) powered to an 18-2 advantage on draw controls during last Wednesday's 17-2 victory against Anderson. The Ravens made draw controls a point of emphasis in practice and topped Trine in draw controls by a 16-8 margin. Anderson cleared 16-of-26 (61.5 percent) attempts and tied the Thunder in ground balls with 24 apiece.
"We spent the time between these games focusing solely on clearing, ground balls, and draws. The improvement from the last game to now is unbelievable. We only won two-of-20 draws against Heidelberg, but won 16 of 24 [against Trine]. We tied the ground ball battle, and had a positive clearing difference, even with one less player."
Trine cleared 20-of-21 (95.2 percent) attempts.
John put Trine on the scoreboard during the second minute of the first half with a goal assisted by DiMaggio. Trine scored the next four goals, but Lawson, Planck and Bentley rattled off consecutive goals to cut Anderson's deficit to 5-4. DiMaggio provided a man-up goal with 33 seconds left in the half.
Huber put the Ravens within one score during the third minute of the second half. John capitalized on a transition setup from Nguyen eight minutes into the second half. Huber narrowed Anderson's deficit to 7-6 during the 12th minute of the second half. The Thunder pulled away by scoring the next six goals and seven of the next nine goals.
"For most teams, it's difficult for a bunch of underclassmen to get excited for a game knowing they will be playing a player short. But, not this team. I'm proud that we played hard for the full sixty minutes. These moments are what I live for. We still do have a long way to go. But, what we need to work on is easily fixable. I encourage everyone reading this to come watch in person or online for some inspiring lacrosse to come from this family."
Anderson returns to action on March 31 against Bethany College (1-2) at 1 p.m. at Macholtz Stadium.
