PHILADELPHIA – Sophomore Maddie Dachowski tallied four goals and classmates Bridget Ruskey and Annina Iacobucci each had a goal and two assists for the La Salle University women's lacrosse team, who put together two strong halves in a 13-7 victory over George Washington on Friday.

The game served as the Atlantic 10 opener for both schools, and moves the Explorers to 3-5 overall while the Colonials fall to 2-7 with the loss.
 
 HOW IT HAPPENED

• The visitors began with a 2-1 lead, sandwiching scores on either side of a goal from sophomore Maddie Dachowski.
• La Salle responded with a run of three straight goals from Dachowski (twice) and sophomore Emmie Dressel (her first of the season.) 
• Although the Colonials then brought the lead within one, sophomores Allison Hunter and Emily Johnston found the back of the net to make it 6-3 in favor of La Salle at the half.
• The Explorers opened the next period with a quick strike from senior Isabel Caddick, which George Washington quickly countered. La Salle then made a strong move by scoring five unanswered to push the score to 12-4 at the halfway mark of the second.
• While the Colonials answered back with three straight scores of their own, Dachowski found her fourth with under a minute remaining to seal the victory.

 INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Winning streaks: La Salle has emerged triumphant in three consecutive home games vs. the Colonials dating back to 2015. The Explorers have also won two straight for the first time this season. 
• Over the last two games, La Salle is averaging 15 goals per game, well above their season average of 10.6 goals.
• Dachowski on fire: La Salle's leading scorer now has 23 goals this season. She has scored over half those goals (12) over the last three games. 
• EJ everywhere: Johnston ranked first on the team in draw controls (four) and tied-second in caused turnovers (three) and ground balls (three). She also added a goal and an assist to cap a well-rounded performance.
• In net, sophomore Molly Loughlin stood out with 14 saves on 21 shots faced. Her save percentage of 66.7% tied her season-best mark set against LIU – Brooklyn on opening day.

COACH'S THOUGHTS

• Head coach Katie Rhodes Abbott noted an all-around performance from her team: "We had a great team win today. We knew GW was going to be tough and we went out with the fire we needed. Everyone played as a full unit. We fought hard for the draws which gave us the offensive possessions to put it away. Defense was huge today, as was Molly in the cage. They really battled against some great GW attackers. We are looking forward to keeping this momentum going in to Sunday. George Mason is going to be tough, but if we build off of today we should be in good shape."

 UP NEXT

• The Explorers will look to go 2-0 in conference play against George Mason on Sunday. Fist draw in Fairfax is at noon and the game can be streamed on ESPN+.