Seahawks Capture Fifth Straight Victory over Gophers

ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. — After rallying out of an early 3-0 deficit, not much else went right for Goucher in a clash at St. Mary's (Md.) this afternoon, with the Gophers falling 18-5 in their second-to-last game before the start of conference play.

The Seahawks (3-4) have now defeated Goucher (4-4) in four consecutive seasons, and five times overall since an 8-7 win for the Gophers during their last season in the Capital Athletic Conference back in 2007.

Goucher found itself down by three just 5:20 into today's contest. A free position goal from Megan Meluskey (Wilmington, Del./Concord) got the Gophers on the board with 24:02 on the clock, and Hannah Mae Brown (Pinedale, Wyo./Dunn School) and Anneke Ossorio (Lafayette, Colo./Kent Denver School) added goals of their own shortly afterwards to get Goucher back on level terms before the game was 10 minutes old.

After that, however, it was all Seahawks, with the Gophers surrendering 15 of the next 16 goals overall. Shelby Newman and Tori Poffenberger each had four goals to lead St. Mary's, with Newman chipping in three assists.

Erin Reifsnyder (Austin, Texas/St. Andrew's Episcopal) finished with two goals, four draw controls and two caused turnovers to lead Goucher. The senior midfielder has now scored in all eight games this year, and in 51 of 54 games in her Gopher career. Brown, who also has a goal in every game, added a team-high six draw controls.

Goucher controlled 13 of the game's 25 draws, but the Seahawks had a commanding 29-18 advantage in shots, along with a 17-11 edge in ground balls.

The Gophers return to action Wednesday night with a 7 p.m. matchup at Southwestern (Texas).