Dialog reporter
WILMINGTON – Ursuline’s lacrosse team has had a standout season, with victories over top-10 opponents Polytech, St. Mark’s, Caravel and Padua. But the Raiders’ game on May 6 at Archmere was a disappointing 10-5 defeat to the third-ranked Auks, giving fourth-ranked Ursuline extra motivation heading into its match May 11 vs. No. 5 Wilmington Charter.
The Raiders came out energized, scoring 11 times in the game’s first 15 minutes on their way to a wet 20-9 win over the Force. Erin O’Doherty led the way with six goals for the victors, while Jane Lyons added five.
Lyons opened the scoring in the first minute, and Moira Carroll got on the board a minute later. Charter’s all-state midfielder, Kendall Adkins, scored the first of her six goals to cut the deficit to 2-1, but it took just nine seconds for Ursuline’s Jordan Kenney to answer.
The Force was within 5-2 on Adkins’ second goal, but the Raiders took control with a six-goal run. O’Doherty picked up her hat trick goal, and Brooke Schmeusser converted a steal by Cara Grzybowski into another. Schmeusser notched her second on a restart. Lyons earned an assist on O’Doherty’s fourth by racing to a loose ball, and the sophomore took a pass from Shannon O’Doherty and outran the Force for 40 yards to find the net and increase the advantage to 10-2.
Claire McFadden’s crossing pass to Schmeusser resulted in Ursuline’s 11th goal with 9:54 remaining, and although the Raiders were done scoring for the next nine minutes, they had the game firmly in control. Riley Alexander was solid in goal, keeping Charter from making too much of a run.
The scoring continued for Ursuline into the second half, and a 12-5 halftime lead grew to 10 before the Force cut it with two straight. But the Raiders played well on both sides of the ball this afternoon, and they would not allow Charter to get too close.
Ursuline (10-2) returns to action on Saturday at home vs. St. Andrews School at 12:30 p.m. Charter, which lost for just the second time and the first time since a 17-3 setback against St. Mark’s on March 30, is 12-2 and will conclude its regular season on Monday at home against Glasgow at 3:30 p.m.
