April 14, 2007

Perfect ten
Falcons scoring binge seals tenth consecutive victory

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio - The Notre Dame Falcons (10-2) notched their unprecedented tenth consecutive victory of the season with a 14-8 win over the visiting Presbyterian Blue Hose (6-7). The match up marks the first ever meeting between the two third-year lacrosse programs. NDC’s tenth win marks one more high point for the breakout 2007 season; having only six wins in their first two seasons combined.

Just one minute into the game, the Falcons’ got on the board first when Stacey Gowe (Fr/Medina, OH) passed to Gena McPherson (Fr/Brampton, ON) into the middle. The Blue Hose answered back quickly with Rachel Beaumont’s first of two goals on the day. Molly Merrill (So/Medina, OH) and Jenna Schuerman (So/Savage, MN) came back with one goal each over the next ten minutes before Sally Maple made it a 3-2 game when she snuck one past Kylie Flett (Jr/Adelaide) on the first of many Presbyterian free position shots.

NDC then rallied to a Gowe, Merrill and McPherson 3-0 run to put the Falcons up 6-2. Beaumont and Brittni Delaney answered back with two more goals to bring the Blue Hose within two goals with 25 seconds left in the half. However, after NDC snatched the draw control and tried to make the fast break to goal, Schuerman was fouled with only four seconds left in the half and was then set up to take one more shot before the buzzer to make the score 7-4 going into the intermission.

In the closing half, the NDC Laxers and the Blue Hose traded goals back and forth for the first ten minutes before the Falcons were able to pull away with three unanswered goals to secure the 14-8 win.

Falcon scoring was lead by Jenna Schuerman who finished the game with three goals and one assist while McPherson also recorded a hat trick. Nikki Gatlin (Jr/Oakwood, OH) and Molly Merrill recorded two goals apiece while Stacey Gowe finished with one goal and one assist. Sarah Hutchison (Fr/Powell, OH), Jenn Morse (Fr/Brampton, ON) and Dani Ulry (Fr/Gahanna, OH) had one goal each.

Brittni Dulaney lead the Blue Hose scoring with two goals and two assists. Shannon Stodel and Rachel Beaumont finished with two netfinders while Jordan Newberry finished with one goal and one assist. Sally Maple also recorded a goal.

Flett finished the day with 17 saves. Presbyterian’s Erin McBurnette made 14 saves against the Falcons.

NDC takes the field again when they travel to Delaware, OH on Tuesday, April 17 to take on the North Coast Athletic Conference’s Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops at 4:30pm.

Notes from the Nest….

Who’s on First: McPherson’s first goal marks the tenth consecutive game this season where NDC has scored the first goal of the game. The only times the Falcons’ have not scored the first goal were in their only losses of the season against St. Anselm and Ursinus College back in early March.

Gatlin the Great: Nikki Gatlin’s breakthrough performance against Presbyterian was not just marked by her two goal performance but also a strong showing on the defensive end. Gatlin’s seven shots were complimented by one groundball, one draw control and four caused turnovers. Gatlin’s stifling defense lead to three key stick checks and one interception to get the ball back in NDC’s sticks.

What’s in a Name?: While spelled differently but pronounced the same, Jenna Schuerman and Gena McPherson have combined for 78 of the 226 Falcon points this season. Schuerman and McPherson are ranked first and second respectively in overall points and scoring on the team. They have also combined for a total 159 shots this season.