Ladies win defensive battle at OWU

DELAWARE, Ohio — Three goals from first-year Maddie Garner proved to be the difference Wednesday night as the Kenyon College women’s lacrosse team won a defensive battle, 8-5, against the host Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan University.

Garner scored two first quarter goals to give the Ladies a 3-0 start to the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) contest. She later scored the lone goal in the third quarter to give Kenyon a 6-4 edge.

The three goals were a game-high and gave Garner 23 on the season, a total that ranks second among her teammates. Her output also kept the Ladies win streak alive, while extending Ohio Wesleyan’s losing streak.

Kenyon is now 10-1 overall, 4-0 in the NCAC and winners of eight straight. Ohio Wesleyan, which has dropped three straight games, fell to 10-4 overall and 0-4 in conference competition.

Garner’s first-quarter goals complemented one from Tatumn Eccleston, pushing Kenyon to a 3-0 start. Over the last four minutes of the quarter, however, the Battling Bishops tied up the game, 3-3, with three different goal scorers.

Julia Losey then scored twice for Kenyon in the second quarter. Between her two goals, Ohio Wesleyan scored once, putting the halftime score at 5-4 in favor of Kenyon.

Throughout the game, the Ladies were getting the shots they needed, but Ohio Wesleyan goalkeeper Abby Markowitz played well in front of the net. Kenyon took 28 total shots and Markowitz saved half of them.

In the third quarter, Garner extended the Kenyon lead to two goals and, at the start of the fourth quarter, Ella Murphy ran her scoring streak to eight games to give the Ladies a 7-4 advantage. Two minutes later, Alex Tiatia tacked on one more for the Ladies, who yielded just one goal the rest of the way.

Ohio Wesleyan managed 18 shots for the game with Kenyon goalkeeper Nola Garand making five saves in her 60 minutes of work.

Up next for the Ladies is a home contest Saturday against the DePauw University Tigers. That game, which has a 4 p.m. start, will also mark the team’s celebration of Senior Day.