Gophers Offensive Performance Secures First Win on Beldon this Season

BALTIMORE, MD - The Goucher College Gophers (2-1 overall) hosted the Phoenix of Wilson College (0-3) on Monday night. A strong offensive performance from the Gophers led to a 13-4 win.

The Gophers opened up the game with two man-up goals 40 seconds apart from each other. The first goal was scored by Emma Nelson (13:41) and the second was scored by first year, Dayana Flores Bermudez, assisted by Wrenn Harney (13:01). Katie Bloom caused a turnover to allow the Gophers to storm down the field for a Tatiana Emeruwa goal (7:50). Just under two minutes later, Harney found the back of the net to score her first of the game. Wilson capped the quarter by scoring their first goal of the contest, to bring the score to 4-1 heading into the second.

Goucher started the attack early in the second with a shot from Camden West coming in the first two minutes of the quarter. Emeruwa tallied another goal at the 8:32 mark to give them the 5-1 advantage. A won draw control from K. Bloom led to back-to-back shots from the Gophers. Two green cards on the Gophers allowed Wilson to record shots on net. To close the half, Bailey Freeman scored on a feed from Emeruwa to give the Gophers a 6-1 lead.

Angelena Holmes started the second half with a ground ball off a turnover to give the Gophers the offensive momentum once again. The Phoenix responded with an attack of their own after earning the ball back on a defensive turnover, but were unable to capitalize. Holmes added another ground ball to propel the Gophers down the field for a Harney goal (9:06). The Gophers quickly added two more goals, from Nelson and K. Bloom, 32 seconds apart, giving Goucher a 9-1 lead with just over seven minutes left in the third quarter. Kennedy Harper came up with the save after an offensive attack from Wilson, and they quickly fired back following a turnover to give them their second goal in the contest. Wilso used this momentum, adding another goal a minute-and-a-half later, bringing the score to 9-3 going into the final 15 minutes of play.

Less than two minutes into the quarter, Wilson had a free position attempt, but could not convert and quickly turned the ball over to the Gophers, who charged down the field and found Imani Ward for Goucher's tenth goal of the contest. Emeruwa added her third of the night. Following a Harper save, the Gophers put Alana Thaler in for her first minutes of collegiate competition. A turnover from the Phoenix led to another Ward goal (5:21), pushing the Gophers to a 12-3 lead. With 2:55 left on the clock, Goucher sent in first-year, Huda Chaudhry, to see her first action of the season. Emeruwa tacked on another goal for the Gophers to give them a ten-goal advantage. Wilson responded to the draw control, adding their final goal of the night. Despite this late goal, the Gophers' offense secured the 13-4 win.

Emeruwa led the Gophers with five points, off four goals and one assist. Harney followed closely with four points, adding two goals and two assists.

Holmes made her mark of defense, leading the Gophers with three caused turnovers and seven ground balls. Harper recorded 52:49 in goal, tallying two saves on five shots faced. Thaler added 4:16 in net, and Chaudhury rounded out the contest for 2:55.

Goucher outshot Wilson 29-13 and held the advantage on groundballs, collecting 34 compared to Wilson's 19. The Phoenix held the edge in draw controls, winning 11 to the Gophers' eight.

The Gophers return to action on Saturday, March 7^th, when they take on DeSales in a 3pm match-up. The team will be hosting their cancer awareness game along with the Goucher Men's Lacrosse team, who will take the field before them at 12pm.