JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --- The Jacksonville women's lacrosse team defeated the Stetson Hatters 18-3 Saturday afternoon in the first Atlantic Sun Conference game of the season. The Dolphins had 11 different goal scorers, with five players scoring at least two goals.

But it was more than just the attackers making waves. Junior midfielder Abby Moran won a season-high 16 draw controls, one shy of her own JU record for single-game draw wins. With her dominant performance she became the fourth player with at least 200 career draw controls for the Dolphins.

In addition to her dominance at midfield, she also scored the second goal of her career.

"She's just so dedicated to her craft," Jacksonville head coach Tara Singleton said. "She wants to win every single draw control, and she does that for this team."

Jacksonville started the scoring early, with sophomore attacker Maeve Brennan assisting sophomore midfielder Allyx Berry and junior attacker Olivia Johnson for the first two goals of the game.

After Stetson's first goal of the day, junior attacker Ainsley Scruggs scored back-to-back goals to close the quarter. The Dolphins carried that momentum into the second period, as freshman Shae Hagans buried her first of the day. 

On the ensuing draw control, Moran won cleanly before racing through the teeth of the Hatters defense and burying a shot for a goal. Stetson answered, but Jacksonville rattled off four-straight to close the half.

Sophomore midfielder Ruby Lynch scored on a free-position shot, then senior defender Kaila Stasulli scored her first goal of the season. Sophomore midfielder Jessica Giller and Scruggs added a pair of goals on extra-woman opportunities to close the half with the Dolphins up 10-2.

Jacksonville pitched a shutout in the third period, outscoring Stetson 5-0 in the third quarter. Senior attacker Madison Plitt scored a pair of goals as the Dolphins cruised into the final period up 15-2.

Junior attacker Brigid Manning scored first in the fourth quarter and freshman midfielder Chloe Luther scored the first goal of her career to close out the win for JU.

Game Notes

• Moran now has 206 draw control wins in her career, fourth-most in team history.
• Scruggs led the team with six points (4G, 2A), a new single-game career high.
• Junior defender Maggie Cuddy led the team with four ground balls.
• The Dolphins won the overall draw control battle 22-3 and out shot the Hatters 37-14.

Head Coach Tara Singleton
"I'm pumped with our performance to open conference play. We talk a lot about going into conference play, it's sort of like season two for us. To come up with a win in the fashion that we did, I really couldn't ask for more"

Up Next
The Dolphins will hit the road for the first time this season, as they travel to face the Mercer Bears on March 26. Opening draw is slated for 3 PM.