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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The 11th ranked Slippery Rock University women's lacrosse team jumped out to an 8-1 halftime lead and rolled to an 18-9 victory over Ashland University in the 2026 season opener Wednesday at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
 
The Rock picked up a win in their season opener for the 17th straight season and won their home opener for the 14th straight season to open the year with a 1-0 record. Ashland, the reigning Great Midwest Athletic Conference champion, dropped to 1-1 with the loss.
 
The Eagles opened the scoring with a tally from Ashley Fisher to take a 1-0 lead with 11:31 to play in the first quarter, but it was all Slippery Rock for the rest of the first half.
 
SRU tied the score with a Reagan Richeson shot with 9:56 to play in the first quarter and took the lead for good when Richeson buried her second of the game with 7:11 to play in the first.
 
The Rock closed the first half on an 8-0 run to lead 8-1 at the break and capped a 10-0 run with two more goals to open the third quarter, pushing the advantage to 10-1 with 13:47 to play in the third.
 
Ashland bounced back to close the third quarter on a 5-3 run and cut the deficit to 14-8 midway through the fourth, but SRU poured in the next four goals to close out the comfortable 18-9 win.
 
Slippery Rock finished the game with advantages of 35-22 in total shots, 16-13 in draw controls, 19-15 in ground balls and 9-8 in caused turnovers. SRU was an efficient 17-of-19 on clear attempts and Ashland went 15-of-18 on the clear. The game's flow was interrupted by 18 total cards, including 11 in the second half alone. The numerous penalties led to multiple woman-up goals for both teams and limited the amount of 7-on-7 play in the offensive zone in the second half.
 
The Rock got points from eight different players and had seven players record multiple point games. Maddie Blazey led the way with a career-high six points with three goals and three assists. She was one of four SRU players with a hat trick in the game. Isabella Buono added three goals and two assists, Abby Fink netted three goals and handed out one assist and Richeson scored three goals.
 
Grace Rotter also tallied two goals and handed out three assists to finish with five points while pulling down a game-high 10 draw controls. Caitlyn Kelly scored one goal and dished out one assist in her first collegiate game, Ava Dossier scored a pair of goals and Cadyn Eismann closed out the scoring with one goal.
 
Shannon Von Kaenel grabbed six draw controls as she and Rotter combined for all 16 SRU draw controls. Paige Jenkins led the defense with two caused turnovers and two ground balls, despite missing most of the second half after a pair of yellow cards. Violet Freebody matched Richeson for the team lead with three ground balls.
 
Lily Ventresca picked up the win in goal after recording eight saves, one caused turnover and four ground balls.
 
Ashland was led by Tori Wanat with two goals and two assists and Rachel Crumbacher with two goals and one assist. Annie Duncan took the loss in goal after recording 10 saves and allowing 17 goals.
 
Slippery Rock will now shift focus to one of the most highly anticipated early season matchups in Division II this season with a trip to No. 5 West Chester Saturday for the Golden Rams' season opener. The game is a rematch of the PSAC and Atlantic Region title games from last spring, when WCU won the PSAC title and SRU won the regional title, handing West Chester its only loss of the 2025 season. First draw is set for 1 p.m. from Vonnie Gros Field.
 
 
 
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