WILSON, N.C. -- Olivia Eilbacher (Cherry Hill, N.J./Camden Catholic) scored all four of her goals in the first half, Monday, as 19th-ranked Kutztown University women's lacrosse opened up a 13-2 halftime lead on its way to a 16-4 non-conference victory at Barton.
The Golden Bears (3-1) were coming off their first defeat of the season in a hard-fought contest against fourth-ranked Tampa at Keystone Field last Saturday. They worked quickly and efficiently to bury the Bulldogs (2-5) and get back in the win column.
Eilbacher netted Kutztown's opening goal on just its second shot 2:26 into the game, finishing off a feed from
Emma Meakim (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland). The junior from Cherry Hill, N.J., added an unassisted goal a minute later and
Shannon Lake (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) finished off a pass from Meakim for a 3-0 Golden Bear lead before four minutes had come off the clock.
Danielle Lester converted a free-position attempt to get Barton on the board with 9:41 left in the first but the hosts wouldn't score again until the final two minutes of the first half. During that stretch, Kutztown poured in nine unanswered goals for a 12-1 advantage.
Sam Graf (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) answered Lester's goal to push the KU lead to 4-1 before
Lailah ElBouazzaoui (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) and Eilbacher took turns setting up goals for one another. Eilbacher found ElBouazzaoui for a 5-1 lead at 5:16 before ElBouazzaoui returned the favor to help Eilbacher compete a first quarter hat trick with 3:23 to go.
Alexis Plesic (Hanover, Pa./South Western) capped a seven-goal first quarter for the Maroon and Gold with her second of the season in the final minute.
Eilbacher, Lake, Meakim (twice),
Katie Yocum (Hanover, Pa./South Western) (player up) and Graf each found the back of the net in the second quarter.
Kutztown extended its lead to 16-2 by the end of the third on goals from Graf, Yocum and Plesic. In total, 24 players saw action for head coach
Kristen Nicholson.
Meakim registered a game-high seven points (two goals, five assists), while Eilbacher had five (four goals, assist) and ElBouazzaoui four (goal, three assists). Graf had a hat trick, with Lake, Plesic and Yocum contributing two goals each.
Cyrose Conteh (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) and
Emily Christiansen (Ledgewood, N.J./Roxbury) paced the defense with two caused turnovers and four ground balls apiece.
Jenna Blesson (Sparta, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional) drew the start in goal and made two saves in the first half before giving way to
Marisa Bragg (Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central) in the second. Bragg also made two saves.
Lester led Barton's offense with a hat trick and Sydney Quinn collected a game-high six draw controls. Kutztown outshot the Bulldogs 33-13 and committed 10 fewer turnovers (23-13). Barton held a 15-6 advantage in draws but the Bears owned a 21-15 edge in ground balls and converted 17-of-20 clearing attempts.
The Golden Bears will get some time to rest and recover before hosting Shippensburg in a PSAC East game at Keystone Field on Wednesday, March 20, at 3 p.m.
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