PHILADELPHIA – La Salle lacrosse picked up their first conference win of the season on Sunday afternoon, withstanding a late VCU rally to take down the Rams 12-11 at McCarthy Stadium.
 
The Explorers built a 12-7 lead with 9:20 remaining in regulation. The Rams rallied to score the final four goals of the match, but La Salle secured the final draw control and killed the remaining clock to improve to 1-1 in Atlantic 10 conference play.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Maddie Henderson opened the scoring for La Salle just 1:20 into the match to give the Explorers an early 1-0 edge.
• The sides traded goals over the next eight minutes as Kelsey McDonnell and Abby Osmeyer scored for VCU while Steinmetz buried a pair of goals for La Salle as the Explorers led 5-3.
• The Explorers ended the first quarter with two of the final three goals from Kiki Venza and Maddie Dachowski to close the opening frame with a 5-3 advantage.
• Scoring slowed down in the second quarter, as each side scored a pair of goals, Dachowski added her second of the game on a feed from Venza and La Salle's leading scorer Emily Johnston got on the board for the first time as Mia George and Lauren Marosi scored for the Rams to make the halftime score 7-5.
• Johnston opened the second half scoring for La Salle with her second of the game just 1:21 into the half to extend the Explorer lead to three, 8-5.
• After Autumn Cash and Juliana George answered with goals for the Rams, La Salle responded with a critical scoring run.
• From 3:10 remaining in the third to 9:20 remaining in the fourth, La Salle opened up a 4-0 run to take control of the game on two goals from Henderson, and tallies from Steinmetz and Lola Quigley to surge in front 12-7.
• The Rams answered with a 4-0 run of their own, getting goals from Savannah Slack, Riley O'Malley, and two from McDonnell to bring the Rams within a goal, 12-11 with 1:59 to play.
• Steinmetz was able to secure a key draw for La Salle with less than two minutes remaining, as the Explorers maintained possession the rest of the way for a 12-11 victory.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• La Salle held a slight edge in shots, 27-26 and in shots on goal, 22-21.
• VCU led the teams with 16 draw controls compared to La Salle's 11. Sarah Jones led the Rams with a game-high six, while Johnston added six of her own for the Explorers.
• Six different Explorers tallied double-digit points, including three each from Johnston (2g, 1a), Steinmetz (3g) and Henderson (3g).
• Johnston, Liza Dellaratta, and Jess Hewitt each caused two turnovers while the trio combined for nine ground balls.
• Julia Dellaratta went the distance in goal for La Salle, tallying 10 saves to pick up her second win of the season.

 
UP NEXT:
With their first weekend of conference play under their belt, La Salle will stay at home on Friday, April 1 when they take on George Washington.