Gophers Withstand Late Charge from Bobcats

TOWSON, Md. — After a 9-8 victory over Bridgewater (Va.) to open its season, four of Goucher's next five games were decided by a double-digit scoring margin. Faced with a late push from Frostburg St. this afternoon, however, the Gophers were up to the task, putting away the Bobcats 14-12 to move back over .500 overall.

Four different players recorded hat tricks for Goucher (4-3), which has now defeated Frostburg St. (0-6) in seven consecutive meetings dating back to 2000.

The Gophers fell behind 4-1 early in today's contest, but a Megan Meluskey (Wilmington, Del./Concord) strike with 14:47 left in the first half ignited a stretch in which Goucher would score 10 of the next 11 goals.

Right after her first goal, Meluskey found Anneke Ossorio (Lafayette, Colo./Kent Denver School) in front at 13:58, with the junior midfielder firing a shot past Heather Lowe to make it 4-3. Just over a minute later, Erin Reifsnyder (Austin, Texas/St. Andrew's Episcopal) tied the score with a free position goal, and Meluskey gave Goucher its first lead 29 seconds after that.

The Bobcats called timeout after Hannah Mae Brown (Pinedale, Wyo./Dunn School) upped the advantage to 6-4 with 9:50 on the clock, but the Gophers kept up their pressure and took a 9-5 lead into the intermission.

Rita Meissner (Yonkers, N.Y./Yonkers) added a 10th marker right off the second half's opening draw, and Goucher maintained a 14-8 lead after the last of Ossorio's three goals with just under nine minutes to go.

Frostburg St., though, erupted for four quick tallies to cut the lead to two with 5:13 still left to play. After the last of those four goals, the Bobcats won their fifth consecutive draw control, but despite over three minutes of possession they could not get another shot past Emily Gill (White Hall, Md./North Harford) in goal. The Gophers made their final clear with 1:50 remaining, and were able to hold onto the ball for the remainder of the game.

Reifsnyder led the Goucher attack with three goals and three assists. Her 29 points for the season are six ahead of her next closest competitor in the Landmark Conference, Susquehanna's Emma Ehler. Meissner, Meluskey and Ossorio also had three goals, while Brown chipped in a goal and three assists, giving her 10 helpers for the season and moving her into the conference lead.

Emily Lindsay (Silver Spring, Md./James Hubert Blake) rounded out the scoring with her fourth strike of the season. Brown also had eight draw controls, while Meissner and Kadeejah Braxton (Rockville, Md./Wheaton) each caused three turnovers.

The Gophers were outshot 32-25 in today's contest, aided by a 17-8 Bobcat advantage in the second half. Gill registered 10 saves to help hold off Frostburg's late charge.

Goucher will look to up its winning streak to three with a 1 p.m. road matchup at St. Mary's (Md.) on Saturday. The Gophers will then head to Texas for their Spring Break trip before their Landmark opener against Elizabethtown on March 22.