ERIE, Pa. – The IUP women's lacrosse team dictated the game for large stretches, emerging with a 12-7 victory against Gannon in Erie in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western division opener.
IUP (2-3, 1-0) bounced back, using a 4-0 stretch over the second and third quarters to create enough separation.
Sarah Reustle led the Crimson Hawks with four points (three goals, one assist), adding four ground balls, three draw controls and five caused turnovers.
Reustle secured her 100th career point in just her 45th career game.
Kathryn Burke added three goals of her own, while Chatntal Jimenez added one goal, one assist, three ground balls and three draw controls. She is now just two draw controls shy of moving into a tie for second in program history, matching Stephanie Bianco (287).
Emme Mass opened the scoring and scooped up four ground balls for the Crimson Hawks.
Kim Carpentiere added two ground balls and two caused turnovers defensively.
Maddy Schramm came up with seven saves, making some timely stops in the second half to keep the Hawks ahead.
IUP held a 38-17 margin in shots and caused 15 turnovers on the day. Gannon (2-4, 0-1) was led by a pair of goals and an assist from Maggie McGinnis.
In an up and down start, the Crimson Hawks chipped away at an early deficit. Down 2-0 about five minutes into the matchup, the Crimson Hawks scored the next six goals of the half. Five of those six goals came in the first quarter before the Hawks registered the lone tally of the second stanza.
Burke lifted the Hawks ahead at 3-2 on the free position before Jimenez and Reustle closed the opening quarter with markers. Reustle collected her 100th career point at the 3:21 mark of the second, slicing in and gathering a pass from Jimenez before depositing her 12th goal of the season.
The Hawks continued pressing forward in the second quarter and into the onset of the second half, forcing several saves from Gannon goalie Haleigh Manning. Reustle expanded the IUP lead to 7-4 with the opening goal of the third quarter, coming at the 8:57 mark.
It was part of a larger stretch of four unanswered goals that spanned the second and third quarters. During that stretch, the IUP defense limited Gannon chances with multiple caused turnovers throughout the lineup.
Gannon halted its lengthy scoreless drought with the opening goal of the fourth quarter. IUP remained in front, getting a two key saves from
Maddy Schramm on a free-position shot, keeping the score at 10-6.
The Knights closed out the scoring with one final goal at 3:11 in the fourth, unable to chip away beyond that. Burke added her third goal of the game to finish out the scoring.
Up Next
IUP continues divisional play on Saturday, March 23 at Edinboro for a 1:00 p.m. first draw.
Follow
For coverage of the IUP women's lacrosse program, follow the Crimson Hawks on X (Twitter) and Instagram @IUPlacrosse and online at IUPathletics.com.
