Seven Players Contribute Goals to Win Over Falcons

TOWSON, Md. — Seven different players scored goals for Goucher — and two of them didn't stop at just one — as the Gophers came up just one shy of the single-game school record for goals by pinning an 11-1 setback on Cedar Crest this afternoon.

It took head coach Megan Williams' squad just 7:04 to grab a 1-0 lead thanks to an unassisted goal by Justine Ruhlin (Cornish, Maine/Sacopee Valley), who tapped the ball in after the opposing goalie missed a clear.

Ruhlin scored again at 13:18, added a third goal at 29:16 and stuck a fourth one at 30:29. The four-goal performance boosted the senior forward's team-leading total for the season to 10 and for her four years at Goucher to 31, which makes her only the fourth player in the history of the school's field hockey program to surpass 30 goals during her career.

Ruhlin wasn't the only Goucher player with multiple goals in today's non-conference victory. Emily Jewell (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) tallied her team's third goal in the first half and one of the five the Gophers (7-2) tacked on in the final period.

A goal by Antonia DiLuca (Ardmore, Pa./Friends Central) with 29 seconds remaing before halftime that was set up by Emily Gill (White Hall, Md./North Harford) put Goucher up 6-0 after 35 minutes.

Lizzie Barminski (Ventura, Calif./Buena) successfully converted a penalty stroke at 48:15 and, in addition to Jewell, Rachel Crain (Charlotte Hall, Md./Chopticon), Shannara Bauer (Bethlehem, Conn./Nonnewaug) and Caroline Less (Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames) each supplied the Gophers with a goal in the second half.

In addition to scoring her fifth goal of the season, Crain picked up assists on two of Goucher's goals in today's contest.

Although they were outshot, 44-5, the Falcons (0-7) avoided a shutout when Rachel Stump put one in after the final horn sounded to complete a penalty corner.

This was the first time Goucher reached double figures in goals in a game since an 11-5 triumph over Stevenson back in 1991. The school record for goals in a contest is 12, established in 1988 against Gallaudet.

The Gophers will try to extend their current three-game winning streak when they return to Landmark Conference play on Saturday against Elizabethtown. They'll take on the Blue Jays at 1 p.m. on Beldon Field.