All-Around Team Effort Helps Gophers Rout USMMA

KINGS POINT, N.Y. — Goals from 10 different players ensured that Goucher began Landmark Conference play with a victory for a second consecutive season.

Jojo Franklin (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver School) led the way with three goals and three assists, while Zoe Merz added three goals and two helpers as the Gophers cruised to a 17-4 victory at Merchant Marine.

Jessica Borucki (Westminster, Md./North Carroll), Anneke Ossorio (Lafayette, Colo./Kent Denver School) and Sophie Smith (Lawrenceville, N.J./Madison) also had a pair of goals for Goucher (7-2, 1-0 Landmark), which won for the sixth time in seven games. Borucki added two assists, increasing her team-high to 13 for the season. The Gophers had a commanding 28-5 advantage in shots over the Mariners (0-3, 0-1).

Goucher emerged with a 17-2 win when the two teams met last season, and the outcome of this afternoon's contest was decided relatively early on as well. Franklin scored the opener 64 seconds into the contest, the first of eight Gopher strikes before Merchant Marine got on the board with 4:14 left in the first half.

The Mariners added another with 58 seconds to go, but Rita Meissner (Yonkers, N.Y./Yonkers), Franklin and Smith all managed goals before the halftime whistle to help the visitors take an 11-2 lead into the intermission.

Claire Lippay (Jenkintown, Pa./Jenkintown) and Monica Branch (Oakland, Calif./Oakland Technical) each scored for the first time this season in the second half. Lippay made it 16-3 with just over eight minutes to go, picking up the second marker of her collegiate career, while Branch scored her first with just under 20 seconds left on the clock.

Dani McCreary (Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara) and Stefi Perry (Houston, Texas/Klein) each added solo strikes for Goucher. Franklin, meanwhile, now has multiple points in seven straight games after her career-high six point output. Merz's five points was also a new career high. The only other time she recorded multiple points came in a two goal performance against Misericordia on March 3.

After two straight road contests, the Gophers return to Beldon Field for their next two matchups. The first of those will be a 4:30 p.m. non-conference tilt against Marymount (Va.) this Wednesday.