BALTIMORE –
Sydni Black had a seven-point game, and
Lauren Spence made eight saves in goal, as the Loyola University Maryland women's lacrosse team shutout visiting Lehigh University, 18-0, in the semifinal round of the Patriot League Championships on Thursday at Ridley Athletic Complex.
The shutout was the Greyhounds' first since March 24, 2013, when it blanked former Big East Conference foe University of Cincinnati, 19-0.
It was also the largest margin of victory and first shutout in Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Championships history.
Loyola will host the Patriot League Championships Game on Saturday, May 4, at 2:30 p.m. against the winner of the second semifinal between Navy and Holy Cross; the game will air live on CBS Sports Network.
Black finished with five goals and two assists, and
Georgia Latch added four goals.
Anna Ruby scored a hat trick and recorded an assist, as well;
Chase Boyle scored twice for the Greyhounds and grabbed seven draw controls while helping Loyola win 16 of 21 restarts.
Seventh-ranked Loyola took a 6-0 lead by the end of the first quarter with Latch scoring twice and four others finding the net.
Catie Corolla put Loyola on the board 57 seconds into the game with an unassisted goal, and Latch then scored with a
Avery Ruhnke goal at 12:38. She scored her second in a row with an unassisted goal at 10:54 before Black scored her first of the day 59 seconds later.
Ruby and
Gabby Stapleton scored at 7:42 and 4:51, respectively to give Loyola the 6-0 advantage.
Boyle tacked on a goal 4:07 into the second quarter, and Black had two more in the stanza to put Loyola up nine at the half.
Boyle, Ruby, Black and Latch all scored in the first 12 minutes of the third quarter, and
Regan Kielmeyer tallied her first of the day with 41 ticks to go in the third.
Latch
Alanna Wray, Black and Ruby all added unassisted goals in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
Spence made three saves in each of the first two quarters as Loyola held a 17-9 advantage in shots at halftime. The Greyhounds' defense yielded just three Lehigh shots in the third and fourth quarters.
Lehigh committed 14 turnovers in the game with Loyola causing five. Boyle finished with two caused turnovers, and
Riley Olmstead,
Lily Osborne and
Blake Cunneen had one each.
