Top-Seeded Cardinals Turn Back Gophers, 19-9

Khin Finishes with Four Goals, Raising Team-High Season Total to 66

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Goucher got on the scoreboard first against Catholic this afternoon in the semifinals of 2011 Landmark Conference Women's Lacrosse Championship, but the top-seeded Cardinals allowed the Gophers to score only one more goal the entire half and went on to defeat the Gophers, 19-9.

An unassisted goal by Colleen Cole (Holliston, Mass./Northfield Mt. Hermon School) 3:22 into the contest put the Gophers (8-8) on top, 1-0, but by the time they scored their next goal with 12:13 remaining before halftime, the Cardinals (13-3) had opened up a 6-1 advantage. Even after Mary Lambert (Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill) tallied Goucher's second goal, Catholic added four more to its total and enjoyed a commanding 10-2 lead at halftime.

The second half got off to a similar start with Hannah Khin (Portsmouth, N.H./Portsmouth) sticking an unassisted goal just :45 into the period to reduce the Gophers' deficit to 10-3, but the Cardinals responded with five consecutive goals to put Goucher in a 15-3 hole.

Catholic, which is seeking its fourth straight Landmark Conference title in the sport of women's lacrosse, assumed its biggest lead of the contest on a goal off a free-position shot by Mary Swarthout that made the score 19-5 with 8:43 left to play.

Khin accounted for three goals during a game-ending 4-0 run by the Gophers and finished the season with a team-leading total of 66 goals, the most by a Goucher player since Emily Blatter's 68-goal performance in 2008.

Erin Reifsnyder (Austin, Texas/St. Andrews Episcopal), led the Gophers in ground balls (4) and was the co-leader with Cole in draw controls (3).

The Cardinals, who have won all seven games between the two teams since the formation of the Landmark Conference, outshot the Gophers, 43-23. Swarthout, Kate Robinson, and Meaghan Brady contributed three goals apiece to the victory.