RADFORD, Va. – In one of its most impressive performances of the season, the Radford women's lacrosse team used a dominant second half to pick up a key conference victory over in-state foe Longwood University by a final score of 18-11. Seven different scorers and a trio of hat tricks fueled the Highlanders to their second conference victory of the campaign.
It was Longwood that landed the first blow as they opened the scoring less than 30 seconds into the contest. The Highlanders responded, however, through
Laura Ferko, who scored the equalizing goal just two minutes later.
Facing a three-goal deficit, Radford went on a tear by scoring six straight.
Mady Cheney got things started by firing home a free position shot.
Reece Morrish then scored off of a feed from
Erica Lawrence to cut Radford's deficit to one. Morrish's second goal of the day was sandwiched by a pair of goals from
Margaret Gleason which ultimately gave the Highlanders their first lead of the day.
Cheney then bookended the Highlanders' scoring run with another free position shot to put the hosts up by three.
After another three-goal spurt from the Lancers that tied the game at seven apiece, Radford responded with three consecutive goals of their own to regain a three-goal advantage. Morrish completed her hat trick with two minutes left in the second frame.
Linley Tirrell then scored her first goal of the afternoon with less than a minute left in the opening half.
The Highlanders held a 9-7 advantage coming out of the halftime break, and it was Tirrell that opened the scoring early on in the third quarter. Tirrell sealed her six-minute hat trick just a few moments later to put the hosts back up by three. Longwood responded yet again, this time scoring three straight goals for a second time in the game to tie things up at eleven all.
If a six-goal run in the first half wasn't enough, Radford ended the game with seven consecutive goals to claim the victory. Kickstarted by Gleason's third goal of the day, the Brentwood, Tenn. native finished off her eighth hat trick of the season to give her squad a lead that they never surrendered.
Evie Gee then added her name to the score sheet in the dying moments of the third period thanks to a feed from Morrish.
Gleason added her fourth goal of the day to open the final quarter of play and then
Ashlyn Grogan found the back of the net to push Radford's lead to four. Three goals from Morrish, Ferko and Gleason in the final moments sealed the match and gave the Highlanders their fifth home victory in their last seven games at the SORC.
Radford's scoring efforts were led by Gleason, who scored five goals in the game and now has a team-leading 43 goals this season. The senior has scored in all 15 games that she has played in this season. Morrish equaled Gleason's six points today via four goals and two assists. Tirrell's quick hat trick gave the Highlanders three on the day. The duo of Ferko and Cheney both added two goals apiece while Grogan and Gee both scored once.
Junior goalkeeper
Olivia Hunter, who leads the Big South Conference with 192 saves this year, added an impressive 17 stops between the sticks.
UP NEXT
The Highlanders remain home to close out the regular season this weekend. Radford will host Wofford College at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday and that Big South contest will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
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