RADFORD, Va. – Women's lacrosse rode the momentum of a big first half to a 17-15 victory over Radford on Tuesday. It's the first away win of the season for La Salle, and for head coach Katie Rhodes Abbott it's her first road triumph at the helm of the Explorers. La Salle was bolstered by big performances from sophomores Maddie Dachowski and Annina Iacobucci—they combined to have a hand in 13 of the Explorers' 17 goals.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Explorers jumped out of the gates to an early 3-0 lead. The sophomore trio of Iacobucci, Dachowski and Sarah Elias etched their names into the scoresheet before five minutes had ticked by.
• Radford responded with a strike from senior Adrian Rius before Dachowski arrowed in her second to restore a three-goal advantage. Although Rius would tally twice more over the following few minutes, Iacobucci and Dachowski answered her and made it 6-3.
• The Highlanders added a score before goals from sophomores Bridget Ruskey and Dachowski, her fourth, restored La Salle's control. Radford reacted well and went on a two-goal streak of their own to put the score at 8-6 with eight minutes remaining.
• Those final eight minutes proved decisive in La Salle's bid to win the half (and the game). The hosts could hardly muster an answer when the Explorers went on a 5-1 run to finish the first frame. Five different players scored over that stretch of play to cement at 13-7 advantage for the visitors.
• Radford threatened to bridge the gap twice in the second period. They opened the half by going on a four-goal run that La Salle eventually halted with strikes from Ruskey, Iacobucci and Dachowski.
• With the lead at 16-11, the Highlanders again embarked on a four-goal jaunt that turned the match into a one-goal affair with 4:25 remaining. It wasn't until a minute later that Iacobucci scored her fifth and put the game out of reach.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• La Salle matched their season high with 17 goals Tuesday. That mark equals the result of their opening game when they won 17-4 over LIU – Brooklyn. They have now gone three consecutive games scoring in double figures.
• The game before: the Explorer are now 6-2 in their final game before A10 play dating back to 2012.
• High scoring win: the 17-15 result for a combined 32 goals is La Salle's largest shootout victory since a 20-18 win over Stetson on March 6, 2017.
• Scoring in multiples: every La Salle player who contributed to a goal recorded a minimum of two points. Iacobucci led all Explorers with seven points (five goals, two assists), followed by Dachowski with six points (five goals, one assist). Ruskey had four points (two goals, two assists) ahead of Elias on three points (two goals, one assist). Three Explorers had a goal and an assist: sophomores Emily Johnston, Brittany Stevens and Isabel Caddick.
• Ruskey and Johnston led the team in draw controls with six and four respectively. Sophomore Priya Kavuru scooped up the most ground balls with four.
• In goal, sophomore Molly Loughlin recorded nine saves on 24 shots.

COACH'S THOUGHTS

• Coach Abbott had this to say on the victory and what it means for her team moving forward: "Offense came through big today for us. We played very balanced and shot very well. Maddie Dachowski and Annina Iacobucci had 13 points together and we had 5 other goal scorers on top of that. Defense did well clearing and coming up with some key 50/50 balls that gave us more opportunities on offense. Radford is a good team with some potent offensive players and they fought hard, so I'm happy we came up with this win today. We definitely needed this going in to A10's we have a tough first weekend and we have a lot to still continue to build on this next week and a half of practice. Looking forward to getting back to work on the field tomorrow."

UP NEXT

• Women's lacrosse has a week and a half off before hosting George Washington on Friday, March 22 at 3 p.m. The game is the start of conference play for the Explorers.