NEWBERG, Ore. – Using a pair of three-goal runs in the first half, George Fox University built up a five-goal lead that proved to be too much for the visiting Hope College Flying Dutch to overcome as the Bruins took a 13-9 victory in  women's lacrosse action Tuesday afternoon here at the Austin Sports Complex. 

Rachel Gibbs and Christine Doherty scored three goals apiece in the first half to spark the Bruins to their big early advantage.  After Shealtiel Hart gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead and Katie Sabourin answered with a goal for Hope in the first five minutes, Doherty and Gibbs each scored once around a tally by Alexa Nakashimada over a span of 3:20 to give the Bruins a 4-1 lead.  Sabourin interrupted the run with another goal, but Gibbs scored twice and Doherty once as the Bruins jumped ahead 7-2 with three minutes left in the half.  Doherty added another goal 21 seconds before the intermission, giving the Bruins an 8-3 lead.

The goals came fast and furious to open the second half, each team making its first three shots in the first 4:20 of the period as the score jumped to 11-6 Bruins.  Hope scored consecutive goals by Olivia Keinath and Sabourin to bring the Dutch within three at 11-8 with 19:29 remaining, but Jessica Adrian scored on a free position opportunity and added another to build the margin back to 13-8 with 8:17 left.  Keinath added the final Hope goal with 38 seconds left.

“This was a good win for us,” George Fox head coach Natalie Harrington said as the Bruins evened their record at 3-3 while dropping Hope to 0-2 on its Pacific Northwest swing.  “Hope's had a varsity program for three years now but they were a club team for many years before that, so they've got some experience.  I liked the way we jumped out early because it got a little tense there early in the second half with the goals coming so quickly, but we were able to match them score for score and hang on.”    

Doherty led all scorers with four goals for the Bruins, while Gibbs and Adrian scored three times each, Adrian adding two assists.  Nakashimada also scored twice, and Kaylee Kolin got the win in goal by turning away 15 Dutch shots.  Alicia Wong shone on defense with six caused turnovers.

Keinath and Sabourin scored three times each for the Dutch, with Sabourin also assisting twice and causing four turnovers.  Racquel Harrouk made six saves in taking the loss in the net. 

The game was closely contested all around.  While turnovers were even at 28 apiece, Hope held a slight edge in shots (26-22), ground balls (28-27), and draw controls (13-11). George Fox led in clears (13-10) and had its biggest advantage in free positions attempts, scoring on five of seven to only one of eight for the visitors.

NEXT: George Fox hosts the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. … Hope (0-2) visits the University of Puget Sound Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.