DOVER, Del. – Junior midfielders
Ally Furnari and
Elisabeth Ralph paced the Terriers with a pair of career and program-best efforts on Monday afternoon, as the Wofford women's lacrosse team blazed Delaware State, 20-7, in a crucial road tilt against the Hornets (1-8, 0-2 SoCon) at Alumni Stadium.
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The win serves as the program's third SoCon victory in four seasons of existence – all versus Delaware State – as the 20-goal tally marks the most goals scored in a SoCon victory.
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Additionally, the mark serves as just the second time Wofford has tallied 20 or more goals in a game, joining a program-high 23-point outburst against Howard on April 18, 2019.
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Furnari, a native of Lutherville, Maryland, matched a program-best nine points, set by classmate
Elisabeth Ralph in Mar. 31's win over Presbyterian, as her eight goals is also the second-most achieved in a game in program history. The junior shot .800, with all 10 shots on-goal, as she also matched her career-high for free-position goals with three in the match. Furnari also contributed four ground balls, a draw control and a caused turnover.
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Junior
Elisabeth Ralph continues to rack up her goal count, pouring in six on the day to set a new Wofford single-season scoring record with 29 goals on the season (Hannah Mutch '19, 26). Ralph's efforts on the day were felt all over, as the junior also added an assist, tallied a career and team-best six ground balls and recorded two draw controls and caused turnovers each.
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Furnari and Ralph combined for 14 goals on the day, marking the most between two Wofford women's lacrosse players with at least three goals apiece in a contest.
Sophomore midfielders
Leah Hurley and
Emma Gentile both each earned three points on the day, as Hurley scored a goal and dished two assists, while Gentile net two goals and added an assist. Gentile also added five ground balls and two draw controls, as classmate
Olivia Abé recorded two goals, two ground balls and a caused turnover.
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Shannon Wulff and
Emma Krasinski round out Wofford's point-getters on the day with two assists and a goal, respectively, as Krasinksi also finished with two ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Kelsey Thompson earned her second win of the season with eight saves at goalie.
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The Terriers were clicking on all cylinders for the match, overpowering the Hornets with a massive 44-19 shot advantage, including a 30-15 shot-on-goal discrepancy in Wofford's favor.
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Additionally, Wofford's activity among all areas of the field showed in its 21-12 ground ball margin, as the Terriers also held the advantage in draw controls and forced six DSU turnovers in the match to Wofford's three.
30 seconds into the match,
Leah Hurley opened the match with an unassisted goal prior to the Terriers unleashing a five-goal outburst that held a 6-1 lead by the 11:16 mark of the first half.
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The scoring run commenced after back-to-back
Elisabeth Ralph goals, from
Emma Gentile and
Shannon Wulff, as
Emma Krasinski then took it in herself for a 4-1 lead with 21:27 to play. Ralph then found herself as the helping hand for a Furnari goal prior to
Olivia Abé capitalizing on a man-up opportunity to net Wofford's sixth goal and hold a five-point lead early on.
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The Hornets answered with their second goal, though, a costly Delaware State yellow card set up a man-up free-position shot for Furnari that found the back of the net, followed by another Ralph score at 0:44 and back-to-back Furnari goals right before halftime to hold a 12-3 advantage at the intermission.
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The second half would continue to be all Wofford, seeing Furnari and Ralph goals open the second frame before Furnari dished to
Olivia Abé for her second score of the day to push a 15-4 differential. Both teams traded scores, as Gentile poured in consecutive goals to keep a double-digit cushion, 16-5.
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The Hornets scored consecutive goals at 13:34 and 11:48 to make a final push at a comeback, 17-7, however, the 10-point spread would be the closest Delaware State would come for the remainder of the contest. Furnari would extend the lead with her persistent attack on the day, netting her eighth goal with 3:25 to play, as Ralph closed things out with her sixth of the day with 43 seconds left to ultimately conclude the Terriers' second straight victory, 20-7.
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Wofford (2-6, 1-2 SoCon) closes a five-match road swing with back-to-back road wins, as the Terriers return to action in Spartanburg for the first time since Feb. 25 for a pair of home matches against Sunshine State foes Stetson (Friday, Apr. 16) and Jacksonville (Sunday, Apr. 18). Both matches are scheduled for noon (12 p.m.) starts at Gibbs Stadium.