GREENSBORO, N.C. – Opening their slate of March contests, the Guilford College women's lacrosse team (2-4, 0-1 ODAC) enjoyed the calendar change, with their highest scoring output since 2023 on their way to blowing out Pfeiffer University (1-3, 0-0 USA South), 20-5, on Saturday morning at Appenzeller Field in the Armfield Athletic Center.

GC finished with a 39-16 advantage in shot attempts and 28-13 edge in shots on target in this one, as they commanded the tempo. Both teams were solid on the clearance, combining for just three failed attempts, but the Quakers came away with 22 Falcon turnovers while committing just 11 of their own.

For Sammy Keene (Greensboro, N.C.), it was a career milestone in her second start, picking up her first win in net by going all 60 minutes allowing five goals against eight saves to improve to 1-1. Dakota Dominic ended up on the other side of the decision, also going the distance and making 11 stops against 20 goals permitted to drop to 1-3.

It was not quite her program-record setting showing against Warren Wilson last season, but it was still a masterpiece performance for Maggie Hartnett (Oxford, Maine) who outscored Pfeiffer by herself with six goals to go with seven assists and added a pair of draw controls. Riley Gravley (Greensboro, N.C.) was exceptionally well-rounded with four goals, three assists, six groundballs, four caused turnovers, and five draw controls on the day. Carm DeFeo (Shelton, Conn.) and Kylie Wood (Greensboro, N.C.) scored four and three goals respectively while Karly Smith (Greensboro, N.C.) had a goal and two helpers. Emma Garland (Hampstead, N.C.) paced all players with six draw controls.

The Falcons were led by Skyla Jo Chatette and Emma LaFave who scored two goals apiece with the former adding two assists and the latter pitching in one. Cerys Reid was the only other PU player find the back of the net. Olivia Garver forced two turnovers and had a team-high three groundballs.

DeFeo would get the party started for GC, as she got fouled in the arch and cashed in on a free-position look just 53 seconds in. Hartnett followed with her first, taking a Smith feed from behind the cage, at the top of the crease and finished a nifty backhand into the bottom-left just 37 seconds later. After a brief hiatus, Gravely got one, splitting a double-team and winding up wide open on the other side of it, going top-shelf to the upper-right 90 to score. Wood followed under a minute after, rotating and finding space straight-away, and catching and shooting a well-timed pass from Smith, all in one motion to score. Kennedy Gates (Cornelius, N.C.) then scored her first before PU built some momentum. LaFave scored off a Charette feed before going on the distributing end of Reid's lone tally, bringing the score to 5-2 after one.

Wood scored what finished as the game-winner, catching a Hartnett dish moving across the top of the arch then going bottom-left to score GC's sixth goal early in the second. Charette countered then Wood scored her third and LaFave netted her second, all in reasonably quick succession, but it was all Quakers from there. DeFeo and Hartnett each scored to make the tallies 9-4 at the half.

Gravley struck first in the third then Charette responded, but the short-handed Falcons, who were playing with just 11 dressed participants, ran out of steam. Smith and Harnett recorded man-up tallies then DeFeo got her third goal and consecutive Harnett scores, the first a free-position, and the second off a Gravley assist, got the game into running clock.

GC closed the scoring with DeFeo, Gravley on the free-position, Kaylee Carr (Plant City, Fla.), Gravley again, and finally Hartnett on the free-position all finding twine to bring the score to a 20-5 final.  

The Quakers return to Appenzeller Field to host Ohio Northern University next on Tuesday, March 11 at 1:00 PM.

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