By: Ryan Sosic '19

BEREA, Ohio-  The Baldwin Wallace University women's lacrosse team defeated Otterbein University by a final score of 17-7 in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup for their first win on Tressel Field inside the George Finnie Stadium on Seniors' and Parents' Day.

Before the game, the Jackets took time to honor their four seniors: defender Lauryn Wright (Orrville), All-OAC midfielder Erica Eyerman (North Olmsted/Magnificant), defender Taylor Giordanengo (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) and attack Caitlin Wheeler (Lake Mills, Wis/Oak Park-River Forest {Ill.}).

BW (7-8, 5-2 OAC) was led by sophomore All-OAC attack Brie Martineau (Strongsville) with a career-high tying five goals and a career-high three assists. Junior All-OAC midfielder Megan Patrick (Ravenna/Kent Roosevelt), All-OAC midfielder Hannah Stein (Medina/Highland), sophomore midfielder Savanna Jaekle (Lockport, N.Y.), junior attack Mackenzie Moran (Carlisle, Pa) and Eyerman were all able to contribute two scores in the victory. Junior attack Hannah Albrechta (Uniontown/Green) tallied a career-high tying four assists in the game.

Otterbein (7-8, 3-3 OAC) was led by junior attack Abby Smoot with five goals. Freshmen midfielder Kiera Mulcahy and freshmen midfielder Julia Karas chipped in one goal a piece.

After an Otterbein goal less than two minutes into the contest, the Jacket' offense exploded for 13 straight goals to take a 13-1 lead after the first half. A total of nine Jackets were able to find the back of the cage, including three goals by Martineau and a pair of scores by Patrick and Stein. The defense allowed only four attempted shots and forced 25 turnovers in the first stanza.

Otterbein was able to start the second half strong with two consecutive goals by Smoot. The teams began to trade goals for 11 minutes, which cut the BW lead to 17-5. In that span, freshmen attack Alexis O'Neil (Westlake), Jaekle, and Eyerman all scored. The last pair of goals in the game was registered by Smoot, with the last coming at 4:21 remaining in the contest.

The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Wednesday, April 25 when they travel to Alliance for the final regular season OAC contest against undefeated Mount Union University inside Mount Union Stadium at 7 p.m.