For Immediate Release March 27, 1999
Roanoke Defeats Division II Bloomsburg, 11-9
Maroons Score Seven In Second To Beat DII's Third-Ranked Team
SALEM, Va.--The Roanoke College women’s lacrosse team scored seven goals in the second half and overcame a four-goal deficit to defeat Bloomsburg University, 11-9, on Saturday afternoon. The Maroons, who put together their first winning streak of the season, improve to 4-2 on the year, while Bloomsburg falls to 2-1. Bloomsburg entered the game ranked third in the country in the latest Division II national poll, while Roanoke holds the 14th spot in the Division III poll. After losing the lead and fighting back from a four-goal hole, the Maroons tied the score at seven with 19:39 to go in the second half. The lead then changed hands twice, with RC taking an 8-7 lead and Bloomsburg fighting back to grab a 9-8 advantage. The score was tied at nine with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation, when the Huskies were called for a crucial offsides. The Maroons were awarded the ball and had a decisive field advantage. Roanoke’s Leslie Hunt (Baltimore, MD/Towson) re-started play and found senior Lindsay Wernert (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) down field. Wernert went one-on-one with a Bloomsburg defender, beat her, and ripped a shot past BU goaltender Yoshonda Wisher to give RC a lead it would hold to for the rest of the game.
The Maroons scored the first goal of the game, but the Huskies responded with the next five to take a 5-1 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the first half. The Maroons, however, scored three of the period’s final four goals to close the gap to just two at the break. Ellie Page (Savannah, GA/Berkshire) scored at the 4:44 mark, and on the draw following, Roanoke’s Kylie Wernert (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) picked up the ball, ran down the field, and scored Roanoke’s fourth goal, just 12 seconds after Page had registered her goal.
Bloomsburg scored the first goal of the second half, extending its lead to three, 7-4. But from there, the Huskies allowed RC to go on a 4-0 run, and were unable to score for almost 19 minutes. Kylie Wernert had a hand in three of the four goals during the Maroon streak. She scored once and assisted on two others. After Roanoke had taken the lead, 8-7, Bloomsburg tied the score and took the lead back, 9-8. Hunt tied the score at nine after she had carried the ball for almost three-quarters of the field and was left unguarded while taking a shot.
Lindsay Wernert led all goal scorers in the game, finding the back of the net five times. Kylie Wernert scored three goals and added two assists to the Maroon effort. Page tallied twice and had an assist for the Maroons, who beat a nationally-ranked opponent for the second consecutive game (RC beat Hartwick, 13-7 on Thursday).
Roanoke returns to action on Tuesday at Guilford College. The game is scheduled to begin at 4:00 pm. The Maroons are 1-0 in conference play this season and are in search of their ninth ODAC championship.