MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Women's lacrosse took on Hendrix in the first round of the SAA Tournament and cruised to a resounding 19-5 victory to advance to the semifinals.
Dani Taraska eclipsed 200 career points with her goal today, solidifying herself as a Berry great.
Berry's well-balanced attack included eleven different Vikings scoring a goal en route to the blowout win. Jaden Russell led the Vikings with a season-high 3 goals and one assist.
Other key contributors included Madeline Dahl (3 goals) and AnnaKate Estock (1 goal, 3 assists).
The Viking offense got going early with a connection between Molley Cross and Katie Claire Smith, as Smith shoveled a shot past the Hendrix keeper to give the Vikings an early 1-0 lead.
Just about a minute later, Cross continued her productivity with a point-blank goal of her own that put Berry in control early with a two-goal lead.
The outstanding ball movement from the Vikings continued when Estock snuck around the backdoor of the goal and sent through a beautiful pass to Dahl, who tapped a shot through to make the score 3-0.
Dani Taraska then found a head of steam through the heart of the Hendrix defense, where she punctured the back of the net to extend the Viking lead to a commanding four goals.
Following another Dahl goal, Estock joined the scoring action with a terrific goal as she weaved through traffic and finished off the play to make it a 6-0 lead for the Vikings. The action continued at the six-minute mark when Morgan Barton penetrated the Warrior defense and scored yet another unanswered goal to extend the lead to 7-0.
Hendrix finally answered with a goal to stop the bleeding with 4:33 left in the first quarter. The Vikings did not wait long to respond though, as Taraska found a cutting Smith, who finished a goal from point-blank range to extend the lead to 8-1 with 4:16 remaining in the first period.
Nearing the end of the first period, Jaden Russell introduced herself to the Hendrix defense as she dipped past a defender and pierced the net to make the score 9-1 with just over thirty seconds left in the first quarter.
The Vikings continued to be on the attack in the second period when Hayden Clement got loose and scored to make the score 10-1 with 7:55 left in the second period.
Just a minute later, Cross carried the ball into the Viking attacking third and attracted two defenders before passing to Maddie Mashburn who did the rest to extend the lead to 11-1 with 5:53 to play in the half.
With 3:14 to go, Mashburn continued her hot streak when she rebounded her own shot and sent through a goal past the outstretched arm of the goalkeeper to bring the Viking lead to 12-2 heading into the halftime break.
Berry shut the door on any hopes of a Hendrix comeback in the third quarter, when they methodically picked up where they left off and outscored the Warriors 5-2 to take a comfortable 17-4 lead into the final period.
With an insurmountable lead at the start of the fourth quarter, Berry continued to pour it on, as Estock dished an entry pass to Russell, who again made the Warriors pay to make the score 18-4 with just under thirteen minutes remaining in the game.
The ball movement did not stop in the final minutes, as Cross received a special delivery and scored yet another point-blank goal to extend the Viking lead to 19-5 with 3:13 to play.
Enjoying the commanding advantage, the Vikings would earn a wire-to-wire 19-5 win to advance to the semifinal round against Rhodes in Memphis on Sunday at 12 PM ET.
