Elon WLAX Cruises Past William & Mary in Regular-Season Finale

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The Elon University women’s lacrosse team exploded scoring 15 unanswered goals after falling behind 3-1 early in the contest and cruised to an 18-4 victory over William & Mary in its regular-season finale on Saturday, April 29, at Martin Family Stadium.

BOX SCORE

With the win, the Phoenix clinches the No. 3 seed in next week’s 2017 CAA Women’s Lacrosse Championships. For the second consecutive season, Elon will face Towson, who is hosting this year’s championships. The Phoenix improved to 12-5 overall and finished conference play with a 4-2 mark with the win against the Tribe. The 12 wins is the most wins in a single season in program history to date. William & Mary concludes the season 3-14 overall and 0-6 in CAA action.

Abby Godfrey paced the Phoenix scoring a season-high four goals and also tallying four draw controls against the Tribe. Stephanie Asher and Shelby Scanlin each added three goals apiece and Scanlin added an assist. Kelsey Dupere finished with a team-best two assists and also added a goal to her three-point total.

William & Mary had a different player score on each of its goals as Emma MacLeod, Courtney Donovan, Hannah Ryan, and Nikky Price all got on the scoresheet for the Tribe. In addition, Abby Junior added four draw controls and three ground balls.

The Rundown
After William & Mary owned a 3-1 lead through the first 10 minutes of action, the Phoenix scored nine unanswered for the remainder of the first half to take a 10-3 advantage at halftime. Melissa Birdsell got the run started with her tally at the 20:33 mark. Asher scored all three of her goals during the run and Shelby Scanlin added two of her own to lead the Phoenix to a commanding lead at the break.

Sloane Kessler scored twice and Godfrey added a goal of her own to open the half as Elon extended its lead to double-digits, 13-3, with just over 18 minutes remaining. Goals from Godfrey, Cami Lynch and Scanlin put the Phoenix in front 16-3 with 9:08 on the clock. The Tribe scored for the first time since the 21:41 mark in the first half with a goal from Nikky Price with 4:49 to play.

Godfrey and Summer Larese put the finishing touch to the game with a goal each in the final three minutes to cap off the 18-4 victory over William & Mary.

Notes
– Elon will face Towson in the semifinals of the CAA Championships for the second consecutive season. The Phoenix fell to the No. 2-seeded Tigers 8-6 in last year’s CAA semifinals. It’s also the second straight year Elon has earned the No. 3 seed in the tournament.
– Stephanie Asher scored her 13th free position goal of the season, setting a new program record. Olivia Fernandez previously set the mark at 12 back in 2014 as a freshman.
– With three goals in the game, Asher has now tallied 53 goals this season. It is already a new program record and leads the CAA. She has notched 135 in her career to date.
– The four goals allowed by the Phoenix is tied for the second-lowest number of goals allowed in a single game in program history.

Up Next
The Phoenix opens the 2017 CAA Women’s Lacrosse Championships on Friday, May 5, against the No. 2 seed Towson at Johnny Unitas Stadium. The game will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will air on Lax Sports Network.