RADFORD, Va. -- The Radford University women's lacrosse team returned to action for the second time in less than 48 hours, dropping a tight contest to Xavier by a final score of 15-14. The two teams battled back-and-forth all day long before the Musketeers ultimately earned the win. Freshman midfielder
Reece Morrish netted four goals in the contest as she registered the first hat trick of her collegiate career.
Xavier jumped on the board early, scoring two goals within the first three minutes to gain an early advantage. Radford responded through
Margaret Gleason, who scored the Highlanders' first goal of the game for the third consecutive contest. Her goal, assisted by
Erica Lawrence, sparked a 3-0 run for Radford to give the home team its first lead of the day.
The Musketeers responded with a pair of goals to reclaim the lead before Radford reeled off five consecutive goals to gain an 8-4 advantage. Morrish and
Ashlyn Grogan alternated the first four goals of the run before
Linley Tirrell added her name to the scoresheet to establish Radford's largest lead of the afternoon.
Xavier fought back again, netting the final three goals of the opening half to trim Radford's lead to one at the intermission. The Musketeers orchestrated a five-goal run of their own by netting the first two goals of the third period as well.
Two of the final three goals of the third frame went the way of the home team, as Tirrell and Morrish both struck again. As the teams continued to trade shots, the score was knotted at 10-10 entering the final quarter.
Each time the Highlanders would land a blow, the Musketeers would fire back. After Gleason opened the scoring in the fourth period, Xavier found the back of the net twice in a row to jump ahead once again. Radford continued to scrap, scoring a pair of goals in the final two minutes. Gleason finished off her hat trick and
Mady Cheney trimmed the deficit to one goal with seven seconds left. A hard-fought finish ultimately went the way of the Musketeers as the horn sounded before Radford could get off one more shot.
The Highlanders pieced together a season-high 14 goals in the contest while holding a 33-27 advantage in shots. Morrish led the squad with a game-high four goals en route to her aforementioned first-ever collegiate hat trick. Gleason continued her scoring streak of three games, netting a hat trick of her own. The trio of Cheney, Tirrell and Grogan combined for six goals as each player tallied two apiece.
Olivia Hunter played the entirety of the contest in goal, picking up five saves.
UP NEXT
After having two games in three days, Radford will have the next week and a half off before it returns to action. The Highlanders will then welcome Kennesaw State to the SORC on Wednesday, March 8. That contest is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
FOLLOW RADFORD WOMEN'S LACROSSE
To follow the Radford women's lacrosse team throughout the season, visit RadfordAthletics.com, follow @RadfordWLAX on Twitter, @radfordwlax on Instagram and Radford Women's Lacrosse on Facebook.
