Ellie Carpenter has been a nightmare for the opponents of the Fort Lewis College women’s lacrosse team, and Sunday was no different.
Carpenter scored three of her career-high five goals in just over two minutes’ time to kickstart a dominant first half for Fort Lewis against Westminster. The Skyhawks took an 11-1 lead to the locker room at halftime and coasted to a 15-7 home win.
Fort Lewis (6-4, 2-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) had full control from the start, as Taylor Cabrera kicked off the scoring with an early goal. Carpenter’s three-goal blitz came shortly after and Marissa DiCecco’s goal that followed gave FLC a five-goal lead before Westminster (2-6, 2-3 RMAC) got it together.
Finally, the Griffins got one past Skyhawks’ goalie Alyssa Spencer, but the torrid first half for FLC continued. Ryann Pierce added two goals before the half to go with others from Carpenter, Cabrera and Nikki Fry to close out the first half offensive clinic in which Fort Lewis outshot the Griffins 22-3.
The second half saw Carpenter get her fifth goal early, and the Skyhawks piled on. Jam Vertner’s goal stretched the lead to 14-3 and the outcome was certain. Westminster scored four goals in the final 5 minutes, 25 seconds to make the scoreboard look a bit better, but the FLC lead was never threatened after the opening minutes of play.
Spencer finished the game with seven saves and Carpenter added an assist to her five goals. Aitana Rivera, Carly Smoke and Kelli Warmouth each scored for Fort Lewis. Rivera’s last-minute goal was a cherry on top of the Skyhawks’ victory as it was the first of her career.
Fort Lewis has almost two weeks off before hosting Colorado Mesa at 1 p.m. April 16.
jfries@durangoherald.com
