AURORA, Ill. --- George Fox lacrosse earned another win against a quality opponent on Wednesday, March 23, after defeating Aurora (Ill.) on the Spartans' home turf.

How It Happened

Facing one of their toughest opponents to date in 2022, the Bruins could have easily allowed the emotional hangover of defeated Illinois Wesleyan to slow them down, but they came out firing from the start and never trailed in a hard-earned win.

Fox only needed seven minutes to put up a 3-0 lead after an unassisted Marena Tharpe score and two goals from Carleigh DeLapp. Tharpe bookended the quarter with another unassisted goal and gave Fox a 4-2 lead after 15 minutes of play.

The Spartans held Fox to a single goal in the second quarter but Fox returned the favor and led 5-3 at the half after Tharpe scored her third unassisted goal of the game with five minutes left in the first half. The Spartans outscored Fox, 3-2, in the third quarter, but the Bruins' defense held and the teams each scored twice in the fourth for the final 9-8 score, advantage Fox.

The Bruins played disciplined defense and were able to draw four yellows from the Spartans while only committing one cardable offense themselves.

Top Performances

With players like Kyra Barnes drawing the Spartans' attention on defense, Tharpe and DeLapp were able to fill the gaps themselves with seven of the Bruins' nine goals. Andrea Garcia-Milla dished two assists and scored once, Bailey Faust won nine draws, and Ella Rand played a full game in top form with 12 saves against 20 shots on target.

Coach's Thoughts

"I am really happy with the competition we got to play this week," coach Katie Brand said. "The girls have been working towards these two games all season, so to walk away with two hard-fought road wins is pretty exciting for this point in the season."

What It Means

Fox is coming back to Newberg with a 9-0 record and has passed what may have been its toughest test in the regular season this year, while Aurora drops to 3-4 overall.

Up Next

The Bruins host the 'Whits' on Apr. 2 & 3 with 1:00 pm starts in Austin Sports Complex, beginning first with the Whitworth Pirates.