GRAND RAPIDS – The Calvin University women's lacrosse team won its home opener 18-11 against UW-La Crosse on Wednesday night at Aquinas College.
 
Calvin (3-3) never trailed in the game, scoring two early goals and never looking back as they totaled 44 shots compared to 29 for UW-La Crosse (1-2), while also holding a 44-27 advantage in shots on goal.
 
Lainey Aldridge (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Grosse Pointe North) and Mekaelah McClymont (Camp Hill, Pa./Covenant Christian Academy) put the Knights on the board early with goals to give them a 2-0 lead, and Audrey Booher (Fishers, Ind./Heritage Christian) and Megan Gilbert (Lansing, Mich./Holt) added first quarter tallies to push the Knights ahead 4-2 at the end of one period.
 
Calvin continued to press forward in the second quarter, with McClymont and Meghan Chang (Clarksburg, Md./Clarksburg) each scoring twice to push the lead to 10-5 at the half.
 
The Eagles cut into that lead in the third quarter as they scored four goals in the period and trailed by only three (12-9) heading into the fourth quarter.
 
In the final quarter, Aldridge gave the Knights breathing room with two early goals, and Gilbert added three more goals in the final six minutes of the period to push the final score to 18-11.
 
Gilbert finished the night with six goals on seven shots to lead the Knights, and also won 20 draw controls in the game. McClymont added five goals and three assists, while Aldridge finished with four goals and one assist of her own.
 
In goal, Jessica Camp (O'Fallon, Ill./Fallon Township) saved 16 of the Eagles 27 shots on goal to set a new season high.

COACH'S COMMENT: "I think we played our most complete game of the season tonight," Calvin women's lacrosse coach Blake Boehm said. "Our points of emphasis were to win the draw control and ground ball battles, outwork them in transition, to take at least 40 shots, and force them into low percentage shooting opportunities. 

UW-La Crosse didn't make it easy on us. They had a good game plan that challenged us on many fronts and forced us to make mid-game adjustments. Several players had game-high performances today that allowed us to keep the pressure on for the full 60 minutes."
 
NEXT UP: Calvin women's lacrosse will return to action on Saturday, March 18, when it hosts Baldwin Wallace at 11:00 AM. The game will be played at Davenport University.