Fast Start Pushes Cards Past Xavier, 15-7

Wednesday, March 27

LOUISVILLE, KY

7 PM

University of Louisville

6-6

Xavier University

3-7

Xavier

Louisville

March 27, 2024 | Women's Lacrosse

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Kokoro Nakazawa and Kylea Dobson each record hat tricks on the evening.

By: Kennedy Knisley

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Nine different Cardinals scored as the Louisville women's lacrosse team grabbed a 15-7 victory over Xavier this evening at L&N Stadium. Kokoro Nakazawa led with four goals and two assists while Kylea Dobson recorded three goals on the night.

Louisville moved to 6-6 (2-3 ACC) and Xavier fell to 3-7 (0-1 BIG EAST) on the season.

"It was a great team win for us," said Head Coach Scott Teeter. "We cleaned up some things, we executed, and built ourselves a lead and continued to play for 60 minutes."

Louisville got off to a fast start with three straight goals in the first five minutes of action. Xavier's Kirra Crowley responded with one but the Cards were up 6-1 to round out the first quarter.

"It's really nice anytime we get to play and have this kind of success translate through everybody on the team," said senior Kylea Dobson. "We really saw lots of people contributing which led to our success today."

Dobson started the second frame with another goal, followed by one from Rian Adkins. Lauren Figas and Tiffany Natoli got in on the scoring action and Ava Peers closed out the first half with one of her own. Louisville went into the locker room up 12-3 at halftime.

Kokoro Nakazawa grabbed her fourth and final goal of the evening to open up the third quarter and Nicole Perroni tallied her second of the evening. Xavier responded with three straight goals to shorten the gap to 14-6. Erin Nicholson scored her first career goal to end the third quarter.

Sara Addeche and J Pleck split time in goal this evening. Addeche recorded six saves for a .667 save percentage and Pleck had seven saves for a .636 save percentage.

"I thought they played with some tenacity (on defense). They played up on their toes," said Coach Teeter. "It was a great day for us to get back on track by stepping up and dictating on defense."

Xavier's Kirra Crowley was the only Musketeer to record multiple goals this evening with two. Goalie Marina Piszczor had 11 saves on the evening.

The Cards will return to conference play this weekend when they travel to No. 5 Syracuse on Saturday, March 30. This marks the fifth ranked opponent this season for the Cards. The game will be aired on the ACCNX with the opening draw scheduled for 12 p.m. (noon) ET.