RICHMOND, Va. – Old Dominion lacrosse dropped its contest against in-state rival VCU by a 14-6 score on Wednesday afternoon in Richmond.
Alex Kulinski, who was coming off a four-goal game against Campbell last weekend, struck first for the Monarchs (4-2) under four minutes into the first quarter. VCU (2-3) responded with a goal from Kenson Epperly, and the Rams took the lead with 12 seconds to go after Mason Whitmore found the back of the net to end the quarter.
The second quarter belonged to VCU, with six goals coming from the Rams while ODU was shut out. Mia George was the first Ram to score, and she found the net again later on in the quarter. Teammates Ashley Karn and Amelia Eilbacher found the net as well, with Epperly nagging a hat trick by scoring twice more to bring the Rams up 7-1 at halftime.
Kulinski began the second half with another goal for the Monarchs, though George grabbed the second hat trick for the Rams two minutes later. Kylie O’Donnell scored with help from Megan Hopfensperger, but Sam Palmer and George both continued to find the net, bringing VCU up 11-3. Sarah Murrell grabbed two goals within the last two minutes of the quarter, though Rachel Koeneke broke it up with a goal of her own.
Entering the fourth quarter up 12-5, Koeneke and Whitmore added to the Ram’s lead by scoring their second goals of the game. ODU responded with a goal from Hopfensperger, but they were unable to make up the point differential and fell 14-6.
Kulinski and Murrell led the way for the Monarchs with two goals each, with goalies Brynn Bowen and Hannah Shaddock accounting for nine total saves. Hopfensperger came away with one goal and one assist while defender Payton Kisling had four draw controls and one ground ball.
The Monarchs will look to rebound as they travel to Easton, Pennsylvania to compete against Lafayette on Saturday, March 1.