WASHINGTON, Pa. --
Sarah Labovitz (Great Falls, Va. / The Bullis School) scored seven goals and added 12 draw controls to help the Washington & Jefferson College women's lacrosse team roll to a decisive 18-8 victory over visiting Allegheny College in a matchup of the top two teams in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Wednesday evening at Alexandre Stadium.
Both teams entered the night with perfect 7-0 records in PAC play. The victory extends the Presidents' current winning streak to 11 straight games. Seven of the 11 wins during that stretch have come by double digits. The loss drops the Gators to 12-4 overall and 7-1 in the conference.
W&J recorded the seven goals of the match en route to the lopsided victory. Labovitz played a large part of that, as W&J was essentially playing make it take it early on. The Presidents won the first seven draw controls of the game as they kept pressure on the Gators' defense for the better part of the first quarter.
Sofia Jenkins (Hughesville, Md. / The Calverton School) and
Aisa Uhler (East Lansing, Mich. / East Lansing) opned the scoring with back-to-back goals. Labovitz would account for three scores during the opening quarter flurry.
Allegheny scored the final two goals of the opening quarter to cut the deficit to 7-2 after 15 minutes. However, Labovitz went right back to work early in the second quarter. Labovitz tallied a free position strike before adding another goal off an assist from Jenkins to make the score 9-2 at the 12:55 mark. After an Allegheny score, the Presidents followed with the final three goals of the opening half to swell the advantage to nine goals.
Mya Bolinda, the product of North Hills, scored two of those final three goals as W&J took a 12-3 lead into halftime.
Allegheny came out strong in the third quarter, as the Gators managed three quick scores to try to chip away at the sizable Presidents advantage. W&J would counter right back with three-straight goals of its own. Bolinda,
Emily Heck (Reading, Pa. / Berks Catholic) and
Caleigh Bogats (Oakdale, Pa. / Chartiers Valley) each scored during the run as W&J took a 15-6 lead into the fourth.
Uhler scored twice and Labovitz added one more goal to her tally in the fourth as W&J finished off the double-digit victory.
Uhler finished with four goals to back Labovitz. Bolinda finished with three goals for her first collegiate hat trick. Jenkins had a five-point night (2g, 3a).
Defensively,
Ella Phillips (Arnold, Md./Broadneck) finished with a team-high four ground balls. Labovitz and Bogats recorded two caused turnovers apiece in the victory.
Kaitlyn Brown (Charlotte Hall, Md./La Plata) racked up a career-high 17 saves in the victory.
The Presidents held advantages in saves (17-4) and draw controls (19-11).
W&J closes out the regular season with a trip to Grove City on Saturday, April 29. Start time is slated for 12 p.m.
