Box Score

WILKES-BARRE – Gabby Ford (Elmont, NY/Sewanhaka) and Keri Meerholz (Fair Lawn, NJ/Fair Lawn) tallied nine points apiece as Wilkes University cruised to an easy 18-8 win over visiting Cedar Crest College in a non-conference women's lacrosse matchup on Monday evening at the Ralston Athletic Complex.

Ford scored her nine points on seven goals and two assists, while Meerholz scored eight goals and added an assist. The goal totals were season-highs for both players.

The Falcons struck first as Tara Fikes found the back of the net just 42 seconds into the opening draw. Wilkes came right back, as Ford got her first goal of the evening at the 27:55 mark and Lindsey Davenport (Dallas, PA/Dallas) scored on a free position shot just 55 seconds later as the Lady Colonels took the lead.

After Leia Epstein scored off a pass from Fikes to even the score at 2-2, the Lady Colonels rattled off three consecutive goals in less than five minutes to take a 5-2 lead. Meerholz bookended the scoring while Ford also got another goal.

Cedar Crest closed the gap to two as Maureen Manning got on to the back of the net until Ford went off, scoring three goals in less than two minutes to put Wilkes up 8-3 with 12:43 remaining in the first half.

After Fikes scored the Falcons fourth goal, it was Meerholz's turn as she threw in four goals, getting assists on the first two from Olivia Dworak (Dupont, PA/Wyoming Seminary) and Ford, respectively. Her personal scoring binge came over the span of 1:56, including two 13 seconds apart.

Ford closed out the first half scoring with an unassisted goal as the Lady Colonels went into the break up 13-4.

Davenport answered an early Falcons second half goal with one of her own, but Manning came right back and got another for Cedar Crest, cutting the deficit to eight.

But after a Wilkes timeout, the Lady Colonels got three straight goals – two from Meerholz and another from Ford – to go up by 11 and eventually got the 10-point win.

Davenport finished with three goals and two assists, both season-highs, while Allie Grippo (Fair Lawn, NJ/Fair Lawn) grabbed six ground balls and Ford added seven draw controls.

The Lady Colonels (2-3, 0-1) go on the road for two this weekend with a Middle Atlantic Conference game at Alvernia University on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. and a non-conference showdown with Marywood University on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.