Early Push Carries Meredith Women's Lax Past Marlins

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Meredith College scored the first five goals on Saturday afternoon to take a 20-8 victory from Virginia Wesleyan in non-conference women's lacrosse action.

A combination of Carlee Joseph and Katie Burnet did a bulk of the damage for the Avenging Angels in the early going. Joseph scored the first three goals of the game, all coming in the first four minutes. Burnet tallied the next two scores after having already assisted on one of Joseph's scores.

Virginia Wesleyan got on the board for the first time at the 23:08 mark when Abby Shope scored an unassisted tally. Ashley Winslow found the back of the net three minutes later for another unassisted tally, but Meredith continued to pressure the Marlins, carrying a 15-2 lead into halftime.

Virginia Wesleyan outscored the Avenging Angels 6-5 in the second half behind four goals from Megan Schallock, including two that came on free position attempts. Becca Winslow also contributed a goal in the second half while Shope added her second score of the afternoon.

Joseph led Meredith (3-0) with eight goals while Burnet tallied four. Molly Miller contributed seven assists to go along with two goals.

Madison Carroll made 16 saves in the contest for VWC. Meredith held advantages in ground balls (28-16) and draw controls (17-12) while going a perfect 13-13 in clears.

Virginia Wesleyan (0-2) hosts Frostburg State University (0-0) Sunday, March 6 at 1 p.m.