By John Ostapowicz
The Youngstown State University lacrosse team secured a conference tournament spot in the Mid-American Conference for the second consecutive season.
The Penguins played inside the Watts and Tressel Training Site April 22, against the University of Detroit Mercy. With a standout offensive effort by the team, it punched its ticket to a tournament berth, with a 20-8 victory.
With the last home game of the season, the team celebrated its senior day with Ali Korin as the lone graduate. Korin got off to a hot start, as she recorded her 100th career goal and compiled three others.
En route to a 20-goal performance, five players recorded hat tricks. Junior Jordan Miller and freshman Jade Shearer recorded four goals each in the contest. For Shearer, it marked a career-high in goals and her first career hat trick.
Junior Erin Clark and freshman Ally Garrett were the other two Penguins to deliver on offense with three goals each. Clark also added two assists to acquire five points for the day.
The defense wreaked havoc on the Titans, with junior Tristen Chang scooping up six ground balls, tallying four draw controls and a forced turnover.
Sophomore Aryss Lindsey and sophomore Molly Sheridan each caused two turnovers, while junior Abby Yesko led the team with seven draw controls.
In the cage for the Penguins, redshirt freshman Jacqueline Cornell recorded five saves while junior Mikaela Staranko caused two turnovers.
Youngstown State opened the game with six goals before reaching six minutes. Within twenty-seconds after the first whistle, Korin scored her milestone goal, while Garrett found the back of the net a few seconds after.
The team controlled the game with an impressive 43 to 27 shooting margin against the Titans and won the draw control margin, 17-13.
Youngstown State improves to 6-10 overall and 4-3 in MAC play.
With one game left in the regular season, the team will hit the road against Kent State University, April 29, the match is set for 1 p.m.
The final game can be watched on boxcast.tv.
