Box Score JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --- After an early off week, the Jacksonville Dolphins returned to the field at Rock Stadium in style, rolling past the Rider Broncs 17-4 Saturday afternoon. The Dolphins (2-0) were led by junior Maeve Brennan's five points (4G, 1A) and eight total players scored at least one goal.

The Dolphins were on a roll from the opening whistle, with junior midfielder Allyx Berry rolling right to the goal to score 53 seconds into the game. After Rider briefly tied things at one, Jacksonville ripped off four-straight goals.

Junior midfielder Jessica Giller continued her hot start to the season, finishing off a pass from Brennan. Sophomore Shae Hagans took it herself for an unassisted tally, then sophomore Chloe Luther took one herself for her first of the season.

On a free-position shot, freshman Paige Garguillo opened her collegiate account, flying her shot past the goalie. The Broncs got one back, but senior Ainsley Scruggs couldn't be stopped from range, powering a shot through traffic and past the goalie to make it 6-2 JU through one.

Scruggs's late tally was start of an 8-0 Jacksonville run that would last until under a minute remained in the third quarter.

Brennan opened the scoring on the man-up, faking past a defender and tucking it home by the crease. Brennan buried another, finishing off an assist from Berry. Hagans once again was too much for the defense, shaking loose and potting her second unassisted tally of the day.

Scruggs would add one more for good measure at the end of the half, putting JU up 10-2 at halftime.

The third quarter was an even faster start, with senior defender Maggie Cuddy coming away with the opening draw control and going all the way to the goal, potting the fourth goal of her career.

Hagans completed her first hat-trick of the season, all unassisted. Brennan completed her hat-trick, finishing off an assist from Giller. After holding the Broncs scoreless for 20 minutes and 38 seconds of game action, Rider got one back, making the score 13-3 after three.

The Broncs made back-to-back goals, scoring early in the fourth. The Dolphins would respond in dominant fashion. First it was Garguillo who potted the first free-position goal of her career, then completed her hat-trick, getting to the crease and putting it past the net-minder.

Brennan and Hagans each added their fourth goal of the game to close the quarter, Jacksonville leading 17-4. 

Game Notes

• The Dolphins are off to their first 2-0 start since 2021 and the second time in program history.
• Jacksonville has had at least six different goal scorers in both games this season.
• Senior draw specialist Abby Moran collected 13 draw controls, her third-straight game dating back to last season with at least 12 draw controls.
• Jacksonville outshot the Broncs 34-18.

Head Coach Tara Singleton
On the result
"I'm proud of the girls. It's great to get wins under our belt no matter home or away. We certainly love to see a stat line that has multiple people scoring, multiple people assisting and anytime we can keep an opponent under 10, it's a really great job by the defense, too."

On Garguillo, young players seeing the field
"I'm very happy to see Paige get out there, pt the ball in teh back of the net. She does that frequently in practice, so it's really nice to see her get the nod to get out there and get after it. Any opportunity that we have to get some fresh faces in there and then they do the job that they know they can do, it's a tremendous thing."

On lessons heading into upcoming schedule
"A big focus is to have multiple people who are able to score and having the stat line show that is exactly what we want to see. We need to make sure that we're dialed in. I think we've had a number of shot opportunities that maybe we didn't capitalize on, but at least we're getting shot opportunities.

Ultimately, I'm excited about the next step in our journey. So we're gonna celebrate this win and have a day of rest, then we've got a two-game week next week."

Up Next
Jacksonville's schedule will level up for the next two weeks, starting with the Dolphins Lucy Strong and Youth Lacrosse weekend. Jacksonville will host the Brown Bears Friday, Feb. 27 at 4 PM and then the Marquette Golden Eagles Sunday, May 1 at noon.

Both games will be played at Rock Stadium and streamed on ESPN+.