PITTSBURGH – Women's lacrosse wrapped up their season with a 19-11 defeat to Duquesne on Saturday. Sophomore Maddie Dachowski, capping her breakout season in front of goal, netted a hattrick and dished out an assist. She was joined on points by classmate Annina Iacobucci who scored and assisted twice.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Explorers and Dukes duked it out to begin the game, with both team trading goals twice. Senior Ashley Blanton and Dachowski got on the scoresheet for La Salle.
• Blanton netted again to put the visitors up 3-2, but Duquesne would soon find footing on their home ground. The home side rattled off five unanswered to take a 7-3 lead.
• Sophomore Sarah Elias struck back for the Explorers to cut the deficit to three. Duqesne would then close the half by finding the back of the net six times, pushing the score to 13-4 after 30 minutes.
• The Explorers began the second frame positively and on the front foot, netting four straight. The Dukes eventually stopped the run and the teams exchanged goals twice, setting the score at 15-10 with less than 10 minutes remaining.
• With momentum leaning either way, the home side took advantage as Duquesne plundered the Explorers' goal for four straight.

 INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Five Explorers had multiple-point games against the Dukes. Dachowski and Iacobucci (four points each), classmate Bridget Ruskey with a goal and two assists and junior Mikki Raymond with a goal and an assist were the usual suspects. 
• The final multi-point player, senior Ashley Blanton, had never scored more than one goal in a single season before 2019. In the last game of her La Salle career, she recorded a career-high two goals to put her season tally at six.
• Blanton wasn't the only Explorer to see a spike in her numbers this season:
  • Dachowski finished with 10 points (four goals, six assists) her freshman campaign; in 2019, she was the team's second-best scorer with 42 points (32 goals, 10 assists).
  • Sophomore Allison Hunter had two assists her freshman year. She halved that mark against Duquesne to put her 2019 total at 18 goals and eight assists.
  • Senior Isabel Caddick improved each season, recording one point her freshman year, two points the following campaign and three points in 2018. She scored once against the Dukes to finalize her fourth-year line at eleven goals and four assists.
• Speaking of improved seasons, Molly Loughlin stopped nine shots in Pittsburgh to give her 170 saves this season, third most in the A-10. Her save percentage of 47.6% ranked fourth in the conference.
• Ruskey's three-point contribution solidified her spot as La Salle's top scorer this season with 33 goals and 13 assists. She also tallied six draw controls against the Dukes to give her 54 on the season, which not only led the team but also gave La Salle's number 27 a new career-high.
• Senior Courtney Shoults finished the game against Duquesne with one caused turnover, putting her season mark at 21—a team high. Shoults concludes her career in blue and gold with 60 caused turnovers, fourth most in program history.