Cardinals Extend Winning Streak over Gophers

WASHINGTON — Entering today's match, Goucher and Catholic had squared off nine times since the formation of the Landmark Conference. The five-time conference champion Cardinals had won all nine of those matchups, with the last eight of those coming by at least a 10-goal margin.

The Gophers threatened to put an end to that streak early on, as the two teams were tied at 3 past the midway point of the first half, but Catholic controlled the remaining portion of the contest en route to a 21-6 victory.

Three different players finished with four goals for the Cardinals (7-4, 3-0 Landmark), who moved into a tie with Susquehanna for first place in the league standings. Hannah Mae Brown (Pinedale, Wyo./Dunn School) scored a pair of goals to lead the offensive attack for Goucher (7-6, 2-1 Landmark).

After Catholic opened up the scoring just over a minute in, the Gophers responded with back-to-back tallies from Anneke Ossorio (Lafayette, Colo./Kent Denver School) and Rita Meissner (Yonkers, N.Y./Yonkers) to grab an early 2-1 advantage. The Cardinals went back in front on goals from Madeline Wilson and Clair Schmitzer, but Brown leveled the score once again with 20:21 remaining in the first half, firing an unassisted shot past Catholic's Yasmeen Ajdari.

Jenna Van Middelem put Catholic ahead for good with 12:50 left before halftime. That was the first of five unanswered goals before Brown's second made it an 8-4 game heading into the second half.

The Cardinals set the tone for a 13-goal second half with a pair of strikes in the opening minute, and Goucher's offense was unable to keep up. Erin Reifsnyder (Austin, Texas/St. Andrew's Episcopal) and Megan Meluskey (Wilmington, Del./Concord) scored the two goals after the break for the Gophers.

Catholic held a commanding 46-17 edge in shots, and the Cardinals also had a 20-9 advantage in draw controls. The 21 goals were the most allowed for Goucher this season.

Emily Gill (White Hall, Md./North Harford) registered 10 saves in goal for the Gophers, and she also picked up a team-high five ground balls. Reifsnyder totaled a goal, an assist, four ground balls and a team-best four draw controls.

Goucher falls to fourth place in the Landmark standings after today's defeat, a half-game back of third place Drew. The Gophers will look to get back on track this Saturday in a key road matchup at Scranton. The Royals (2-7, 1-3 Landmark) currently sit in fifth place, a game and a half behind Goucher. Saturday's matchup is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.