Louisville Prevails Over Kent State 9-5

Wednesday, February 18

LOUISVILLE, KY

12:00 PM

University of Louisville

1-2

Kent State

2-1

Kent State

Louisville

February 18, 2026 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Postgame Interview: Scott Teeter, Charlotte Jackson, Mia Lusardi Photo Gallery

Ella Berg delivers her second straight hat trick, Haley Richards collects 16 saves in Louisville's 9-5 win

By: Lori Harmon

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville lacrosse team defeated Kent State 9-5 Wednesday afternoon at UofL Lacrosse Stadium. With the win, the Cardinals improve to 1-2 while the Golden Flashes drop to 2-1.

Ella Berg registered her second consecutive hat trick and added an assist to lead Louisville's offense which saw five different players contribute goals. Reese Whiteman and Charlotte Jackson netted two apiece with Jackson dishing out an assist while Rian Adkins, and Abigail Cole also added goals. Goalie Haley Richards posted 16 saves on the day – including nine in the second half – to pick up her first collegiate win.

"I thought the game was a tale of two halves, give Kent State a lot of credit in that first half they gave us all we could handle," said UofL head coach Scott Teeter. "At the start things were not going well for us, starting in the draw circle, then defensively or offensively. But when it got to halftime, really it was still a 0-0 game (tied at 4-4). We got lucky and fortunate enough that the game was still tied, even after not playing 'Louisville style' lacrosse or systematic lacrosse."

The Golden Flashes opened up an early 2-0 lead with goals by Zayda Crumpton and Meghan Haddow in the first five minutes of the game before Adkins put the Cards on the board with an assist from Erin Nicholson midway through the first quarter.

Kent State countered 45 seconds later to push its lead back to two goals with 6:03 left on the clock. Three minutes later, Jackson pulled the Cards within one and Abigail Cole connected on a feed from Berg to even the score at 3-3 with eight seconds left in the quarter.

The teams traded goals in the second quarter with Eva Anderson putting the Golden Flashes back on top 4-3 and Whiteman answering for the Cards courtesy of Avery Johnston's first collegiate assist to make the score 4-4 entering halftime.

In the first half, Louisville outshot Kent State 15-14, but the Golden Flashes held an 11-7 edge in shots on goal with Richards collecting seven stops and Kent State's Sydney Davis recording five saves.

After the break, Louisville continued its scoring run with goals from Berg, Jackson and Whiteman to take a 7-4 lead before Lizzie Lundeen broke through for the Golden Flashes' only goal of the second half to pull within two.

Kent State's attack continued to threaten, but Richards turned away five shots on goal to help the Cardinals maintain the lead. Berg went on to deliver her second goal of the game on a free position shot with just under three minutes left in the third quarter to make the score 8-5.

Throughout the fourth quarter, the Golden Flashes delivered a flurry of shots, but Richards held them at bay with four more stops. Berg completed her hat trick, delivering final goal of the game on another free position shot to seal the 9-5 win.

In the contest, Louisville dominated the draw control column 12-4 with a 6-1 advantage in the second half. Olivia Scroggie collected a game-high seven draw control wins. Kent State held a 32-29 edge in shots with 20 of its shots landing on goal compared to 13 for the Cards.

Five different players scored for Kent State as Crumpton led the attack finishing with three points (1G, 2A). Davis finished with eight saves on the day for the Golden Flashes.

"We challenged them (the team) at halftime and we got a response," said Teeter. "Some of the response starts with [Mia Lusardi] giving us just the spark we needed. Then you have Charlotte (Jackson), just honing it in on the offensive end and scoring a couple of goals to give us the momentum. We got into card trouble in the fourth quarter. We had seven total cards in the fourth quarter and (we) win the quarter 1-0. That comes down to our defensive play and Haley (Richards) making the saves - nine saves came in the second half. Our offense did enough to win, all-in-all we've got a lot we can cleanup from this game, but the team responded and made enough plays to win the game."

The Cardinals will resume Atlantic Coast Conference play on Sunday when they travel to Chapel Hill, N.C. to face top-ranked North Carolina at 12 p.m.

Louisville vs. Kent State Game Notes

With the win today the Cards are now 2-0 all-time against the Golden Flashes.
Ella Berg found the back of the net three times today to lead all goalscorers, making it her second consecutive game with a hat trick.
Reese Whiteman had another multi-goal game, scoring two, making her season total nine goals in three games.
Goalkeeper Haley Richards' 16 saves today tied a career high. Matching the 16 she had in the season-opener this year against Ohio State. The 16 saves also Richards, the sophomore, has now logged at least 10 saves in each of her three career starts.
A pair of goals by Charlotte Jackson marks three-straight contests where she has buried the ball in the back of the net.
Freshman Avery Johnston recorded her first collegiate assist, when she found Whiteman in the third quarter.
Abigail Cole's game-tying goal in the first period, was her first time finding paydirt this season.