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NEWARK, Del. - - A second half outburst pushed the Wilmington University women's lacrosse team to a 16-6 victory over Millersville on Wednesday afternoon, opening the 2026 home season at the WU Athletics Complex.
The defense clamped down on the Marauders (0-1) in the second half, only allowing one goal in each quarter. The offense came to life as well, scoring six in the third and five more in the fourth to expand the lead. It is the Wildcats' first win over Millersville in 11 games.
Millersville scored the first two goals of the game, but then the Wildcats came back with three of the next four, including goals just 13 seconds apart to tie the game, 3-3, at the end of the first quarter.
Ella Royer started her monster game with a goal to start the second quarter, giving the Wildcats their first lead, 4-3, with 14:34 to play. They would never trail again. Royer scored again with 9:24 to play off a free position and the Marauders could only get one back with 10 seconds left, as the Wildcats went into the break leading 5-4.
The offense started to click in the third quarter, scoring the first four goals of the frame. Leah Rycroft and Ella Royer traded goals back and forth, grabbing a 9-4 lead with 7:43 to play. After Millersville scored, the Wildcats added two more at the end of the third, as Ella Royer scored goals three and four of the quarter to grab an 11-5 lead after three.
Kirra Crowley started the fourth quarter with a quick goal, and the Wildcats carried the momentum from there. Royer scored her seventh of the game on the advantage to make it 13-5 and again with 9:50 to play for her eighth of the day, giving the Wildcats a 15-5 lead. Poppy Fornoff capped the scoring for the Wildcats with 3:46 left before Millersville settled the final score with a goal, 16-6.
Ella Royer scored eight goals while adding three draws and two ground balls, upping her NCAA DII active scoring lead to 287 career goals. Kirra Crowley continued her strong start to the young season with three goals and two assists. Leah Rycroft added three goals and two caused turnovers. Poppy Fornoff and Alea Javorowsky chipped in with a goal and two assists each while Tristan Holdsworth dished out four assists.
The Wildcats outshot the Marauders, 29-21, despite losing the draw battle, 15-8. Ashleigh Lawry started in goal and made four stops in the first half while Allison Schiavone made eight second half stops.
The Wildcats are off this weekend to prepare for two games in California next week. They play a neutral site game against Charleston (W.Va.) on Tuesday before playing host Dominican (CA) on Wednesday.
