In its penultimate regular season game, Vanderbilt (8-8, 2-3) dominated Xavier (1-13, 0-5). Vanderbilt got out to an early lead and never looked back, continuously extending the lead until the final buzzer.
Nancy Halleron was the leading scorer on the day, netting 4 goals in the contest and eclipsing 40 goals on the season for the first time in her career.
“[Halleron] has been doing exactly what she’s been doing the whole year,” head coach Beth Hewitt said. “She’s been getting us off to the right start. It’s just the pace she’s been playing with — and that’s what we keep talking about on the offensive end is being the pace setters — and I think it starts with Nancy.”
Jaime Biscup and Maddie Barkate also added hat tricks themselves, with Kemper Robinson recording a brace. Molly Joyce had one of the best games of her career in net, saving 12 of the 21 shots she saw.
First quarter
Xavier won the opening draw but had the ball poked away in its own defensive zone by Brooke Baker, who then lost the ball herself trying to change directions, putting it right back in Xavier’s hands. After a few passes inside the fan, Xavier put the ball into the cage, but it was called off for being inside the crease. Vanderbilt responded quickly, with Halleron scoring the first official goal off a free-position shot a few seconds later. She’d score her second right after, this time off an assist from Molly Finlay.
Joyce then kept the game scoreless with two huge saves on the defensive end, deflecting shots from right outside the crease. Xavier had another opportunity to score in its next possession, with Megan Droney right in front of Joyce and the cage, but her shot hit the crossbar.
After going scoreless for a while, Vanderbilt got back on the board once again midway through the period after Anna Szporn was stick-poked and the ball found Biskup for the score.
Two minutes later, Robinson extended the lead further with a free-position goal. Senior Sammy Nuchow — typically known for her passing prowess — put in her third goal of the year off another free-position shot in the next possession. The ‘Dores went up 5-0.
With the clock winding down, Xavier was awarded a free-position shot, which was buried by the team’s leading scorer Lola Mancuso, finally breaking its scoreless drought. That goal moved the score to 5-1 in favor of Vanderbilt, where it would stay until the buzzer sounded.
Second quarter
Vanderbilt continued to roll offensively, opening the quarter with a possession where most offensive players got a touch until Cate Bradley found Biskup for her second goal of the match, extending the Commodores’ lead back to five.
Xavier responded quickly, taking advantage of an empty trip by Vanderbilt and running out in transition, where Katelyn McDonnell found Machaela Henry, who sniped the goal while falling forward. Xavier then won the draw control, was awarded a free-position shot, and scored for the second time in as many possessions. The Commodore lead was cut to 6-3 in only 100 seconds.
After exactly 9 minutes without a goal, Robinson added to the Commodore score column with her 23rd goal of the season. Robinson’s goal must’ve sparked the offense, as Barkate scored only a minute later, bringing the score to 8-3.
With under a minute remaining, Vanderbilt gained possession Barkate flew out of nowhere to pick it up a loose ball and put it in the goal before anyone saw what happened. Then, with 7 seconds left, Biskup rebounded a saved shot and scored, recording a hat trick. Vanderbilt went into halftime with a 10-3 lead, its largest of the half.
Third quarter
Xavier won the opening draw, and after Vanderbilt held the Musketeer offense for 70 seconds of the shot clock, a foul led to a Xavier position shot, which Mancuso converted.
Vanderbilt had a chance to get the goal right back with a free-position shot of its own, but Biskup’s shot hit the right post and bounced out. Vanderbilt didn’t stay out of the scoring column much longer, with Brooke Baker receiving a pass from Bradley and slicing through multiple defenders on her way to her first score of the match. Shortly after, Barkate became the second Commodore to record a hat trick on the day, scoring in transition off a feed from Alex Gladding. Two-thirds of the way through the quarter, Vanderbilt led 12-4.
With just under three minutes left, Xavier found the back of the cage once again, this time from first-year Maya Graham. But when it seemed like that’d be the last score of the quarter, Halleron became the third Commodore to record a hat trick, scoring with six seconds left. Halleron’s goal also marked her 40th of the season, giving her team a 13-5 lead going into the final frame.
Fourth quarter
Xavier opened with a draw control and drew a free-position shot, but it was saved by Joyce to keep the quarter scoreless. A minute later, the Musketeers had another chance, this time converting it off the shot from Lily Hayes. Xavier put another one in on the next possession, this time from Droney and assisted by Morgan Handzel.
Xavier’s momentum was thwarted, though, with Halleron scoring her fourth goal of the match, extending the lead to 14-7. Five minutes later and first-year Shea Panzik put in her fifth goal of the year off the feed from Baker. Sophomore Avery Morton scored a goal right after, her fourth of the season, once again assisted by Baker.
With four minutes left in the match, Droney scored a free-position goal for Xavier but two minutes later, Vanderbilt brought the lead right back up to nine with a goal from Anna Taraboletti. Jackie Norsworthy brought the lead up to double digits with her fourth goal of the season.
Xavier put in one final goal before time expired, but the clock ticked down and Vanderbilt was awarded a monstrous win.
With a winner-takes-all match against Old Dominion looming on April 26 for the final spot in the AAC playoffs, this win was necessary to get the ball rolling for the Commodores.
“I’ve been waiting for [the game against Old Dominion],” said Halleron. “This is a big one and we’re ready. We’ve been preparing this whole season for this game, so we’re ready for it.”
Vanderbilt will look to close out the season and earn a playoff bid for Senior Day against Old Dominion on Saturday, April 26, at 12 p.m. CDT at the Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex.
