Gophers Roll Past Mariners for Second Landmark Win

TOWSON, Md. — Eight different players registered goals for Goucher this afternoon, powering the Gophers to a convincing 17-2 victory over Merchant Marine in the first-ever Landmark Conference matchup between the two teams.

Goucher (7-5, 2-0 Landmark) raced out to an 8-0 advantage before the contest was 15 minutes old, ensuring a 2-0 start to conference play for the first time since the 2001 season. The Mariners (1-5, 0-3) dropped their fourth-consecutive game.

Hannah Mae Brown (Pinedale, Wyo./Dunn School) opened the scoring 3:12 into the first half, firing an unassisted goal past Kelly Allison. She was one of four Gophers to record five points on the afternoon, finishing with three goals and two assists to go along with four ground balls.

Megan Meluskey (Wilmington, Del./Concord) and Rita Meissner (Yonkers, N.Y./Yonkers) also totaled three goals and two assists, while Emily Lindsay (Silver Spring, Md./James Hubert Blake) chipped in two goals and a team-high three assists in a career-best effort. Erin Reifsnyder (Austin, Texas/St. Andrew's Episcopal), meanwhile, picked up her team-best 30th and 31st goals of the season. She also tied with Stefi Perry (Houston, Texas/Klein) today for the team lead in ground balls (five) and caused turnovers (four).

Dani McCreary (Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara) picked up a pair of first half goals, while Claire Lippay (Jenkintown, Pa./Jenkintown) scored her first goal as a Gopher with 16:53 remaining in the contest. Anneke Ossorio (Lafayette, Colo./Kent Denver School) had a goal and an assist to round out the scoring, along with a team-high four draw controls.

Goucher scored the game's first nine goals before Grace Mariani got Merchant Marine on the scoreboard with 4:59 left before the intermission. The Gophers then tallied eight straight markers in the second half before surrendering a free position goal to Emily Finnin in the closing minutes.

Goucher held a commanding 30-5 edge in shots for the afternoon, and the Gophers converted all four of their free position shots. Defensively, Goucher caused 14 turnovers and limited Merchant Marine to a 30.8 percent success rate on clearing attempts (4-13).

With today's win, the Gophers have matched their win total from last year with four games still remaining in the regular season. Goucher is 2-0 to start the conference season for the first time since defeating Marymount and Catholic to begin Capital Athletic Conference play back in 2001. They would end that year with a 14-4 record overall.

The Gophers are currently a half-game behind Susquehanna for first place in the Landmark. Goucher is tied for second with Catholic (6-4, 2-0), and those two teams will square off at 4 p.m. this Wednesday in a home contest for the Cardinals.