Royals Control Possession, Pull Away From Gophers

TOWSON, Md. — Despite a significant disadvantage in shots all game long, Goucher held with Scranton for the opening 30 minutes of today's matchup at Beldon Field, trailing only 10-6 heading into the second half. Ultimately, though, the Royals took advantage of their extended possession, scoring the game's first six goals after the intermission en route to an 18-9 victory.

Emily Goss accounted for a majority of the damage for the opposition. She totaled eight goals, tying a record for the most individual goals scored in a matchup between Landmark teams, and had 13 of Scranton's 38 shots. The Royals ended the afternoon with a 38-17 edge in that category.

Today' game was tied at 3-3 midway through the first half, as back-to-back Gopher goals from Anneke Ossorio (Lafayette, Colo./Kent Denver School) and Sophie Smith (Lawrenceville, N.J./Madison) canceled out what had been a 3-1 Scranton advantage. The Royals responded with four goals in under three minutes, but Rita Meissner (Yonkers, N.Y./Yonkers) and Jessica Borucki (Westminster, Md./North Carroll) answered right back to cut the margin down to 7-5.

Scranton then scored three more unanswered before Smith fired in her third goal of the game with 1:27 left on the clock to close out the first half scoring.

By the time Stefi Perry (Houston, Texas/Klein) picked up back-to-back markers midway through the second half, the Royals had already put the game out of reach with their early 6-0 run. Zoe Merz (Westminster, Md./Westminster) connected with Dani McCreary (Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara) for Goucher's final strike of the afternoon with 10 minutes remaining.

Emily Gill (White Hall, Md./North Harford) made 11 saves in goal before giving way to Bridget Den Boer (Sparta, N.J./Sparta), who added an additional three stops. The Gophers finished with a 26-22 advantage in ground balls, led by a career-high seven from Perry. The sophomore midfielder also caused a game-high four turnovers, while defender Kat Carnevale (Portland, Ore./St. Mary's Academy) forced three giveaways.

Two stats played a key factor in Scranton's dominant control of possession throughout the afternoon. The Royals won 24 of 29 draw controls, including nine from Kailyn Angelo, and Goucher was successful on only nine of 21 clearing attempts.

With today's win, Scranton (3-5, 1-0 Landmark) has come out on top in each of the last five matchups between the two schools.

The Gophers (7-4, 1-1 Landmark) will look to get back on track next Friday when they travel to Elizabethtown for a 3:30 p.m. road contest.