Reinhardt Rolls to AAC Championship Final After 26-3 Romp

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. – Women's lacrosse will again be playing for a postseason Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) banner after soaring past Asbury (Ky.) in the AAC Championship Semifinals, 26-3, on the campus of Montreat (N.C.) on Friday.

The Eagles hit double digits in victories (10-1) after Anna-Marie Gazzo had a dominant performance with seven goals on eight shots to pace the squad. Shelby O'Neil and Morgan McGhee (six draw controls) both added four scores as well.

"The team came out fired up and focused intent on making it to the championship," head coach Roy Reynolds said. "We controlled the draw and ran a team-based offense to score quickly. We got to give our bench some great playoff experience to build on next year.

"Hats off to Asbury for making it to the second round for the first time in history."

After a brief 2-0 advantage to start the contest, the road Eagles found the back of the net for the first time to get back within one tally at 2-1 just over two minutes into the action. From there, however, Reinhardt exploded with 16-consecutive scores to head to locker room ahead at the break, 18-1.

The second half – which opened with five more netted shots by the Eagles (23-1) – provided much-needed experience for a wide variety of role players on the roster. The hometown team was able to cause 15 turnovers and control 20 draws, both of which helped the offense stay on track the entire day.

Caroline Copenhaver and Brook Villhauer (six draw controls) also scored three times in the positive outcome.

Amaya Garner notched half of her team's assists with seven.

Defensively, the Eagles, who allowed just six shots, picked up 21 ground balls and Jessie Landers got the triumph after making one stop.

A rematch with second-seeded SCAD-Savannah (Ga.) is on deck tomorrow at Noon in the title game. 

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