EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — A big day for the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's lacrosse team saw the Blugolds produce their second-ever 100-goal scorer and lock up a berth in the inaugural Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament with a 19-7 win over Southwestern on Friday at Simpson Field.
Samantha Burns (Jr. - Mahtomedi, Minn.) scored twice to hit the 100 mark for her career, becoming the second player in program history to do so.
Reegan Werner (So. - Farmington, Minn.) tallied eight points to move up to 97 in her career to help the Blugolds knock off the Pirates and secure the No. 4 seed for the WIAC Tournament next weekend. It will be the first-ever WIAC Tournament in women's lacrosse, and the Blugolds are one of only four teams who qualified.
UW-Eau Claire (11-4, 3-3) scored seven times in the first quarter on Friday and kept up the pace the rest of the way. The Blugolds got two goals from
Devon Crews (So. - St. Louis, Mo./Rockwood Summit) in the opening period and five other players found the back of the net too, building to a 7-4 lead entering the second. The Blugolds outscored the Pirates 4-1 in the second quarter — highlighted by three consecutive goals from
Paige Kiani (Fr. - New Brighton, Minn./Irondale) — to take an 11-5 lead into halftime.
Southwestern went scoreless in the third as the Blugolds padded their lead with two more goals, and six scores in the fourth quarter clinched the win for UW-Eau Claire. Werner scored three goals after halftime to lead the way.
Werner and Kiani scored four goals apiece.
Victoria Shea (Fr. - Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Indian Trail) added three goals, and Burns, Crews and
Alexie Romanelli (Jr. - Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) all scored twice. In all, eight Blugolds scored in the win.
Lily Zygowicz (So. - Lafayette, Colo./Centaurus) added three assists.
UW-Eau Claire held advantages in every team statistical category, posting more shots, draw controls, ground balls and clears than Southwestern.
The Blugolds will now gear up for the postseason. They will be the No. 4 seed in the WIAC Tournament, where they will take on the No. 1 seed in the semifinals on Friday, May 3. The tournament will be hosted at UW-River Falls' Ramer Field. The Blugolds are scheduled to play at 5 p.m. against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
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