BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - - Ella Royer became just the sixth NCAA Division II student-athlete to ever record 300 career goals on Saturday, helping the Wilmington University women's lacrosse team stay unbeaten in defeating Bloomsburg, 19-12, at Steph Pettit Stadium.
Ella Royer (Sherwood Park, Alberta) finished the game with five goals and two assists, but it was her third goal of the game that was most memorable. Her goal midway through the second quarter gave the Wildcats (5-0) a 9-6 lead but also gave her 300 career goals. Next on her list is the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference record, held by Dominican's Grace DeStasio who ended her career last year with 303 goals.
On Saturday, it was the third quarter that allowed the Wildcats to pull away from the Huskies. The Huskies scored the final two goals of the second quarter to close the gap to 10-8 at the halftime break and then added the first goal of the third to make it a 10-9 game. They again scored to make it 11-10, but then the Wildcats rattled off the final four goals of the quarter to widen the margin. Poppy Fornoff scored while falling to the ground with 9:00 minutes to go to start the run. Tristan Holdsworth, Kirra Crowley, and Ella Royer all scored prior to the end of the third quarter, taking a 15-10 lead.
Bloomsburg again started the fourth quarter with a goal, but then Anastasia Giannoulis and Rycroft scored back-to-back goals to take a 17-11 lead. The Huskies scored on a free position shot with 7:07 left, but that's as close as they would get the rest of the way, as Giannoulis and Royer capped off the scoring for the 19-12 victory.
Royer finished with five goals and two assists for seven points and now has 302 goals and 74 assists in her outstanding career. Alea Javorowsky dished out five assists while Kirra Crowley and Leah Rycroft finished with four goals and an assist each. Anastasia Giannoulis finished with a hat trick as well for the Wildcats. Crowley led the way with seven draws while Royer and Rycroft chipped in with five each.
Ashley Lawry started the game in goal and made eight saves while Allison Schiavone came on and made six saves in the second half while only allowing four goals.
After three games on the road, the Wildcats return home on Thursday for their next contest. They host D'Youville at the WU Athletics Complex with the opening draw set for 3:00 p.m.