GAMBIER, Ohio – A trio of hat tricks led a strong offensive effort for the Kenyon College Ladies lacrosse team, which picked up an 18-8 North Coast Athletic Conference victory over the Wittenberg University Tigers on Saturday afternoon at McBride Field.

Cassie Hudson-Heck and Avery Morgan each poured in four goals for Kenyon, while Charley Myers recorded her first career hat trick with three.

The Ladies got out to a hot start, scoring in the first 25 seconds of game time with a goal from Morgan. After Wittenberg answered with one of its own, Kenyon scored eight unanswered and 11 of the game's next 12 goals to close out the first half with a 12-2 advantage.

Morgan completed her hat trick in just 2:49 of game time. Hudson-Heck did not score her first goal until there was 3:42 remaining in the half, but completed her hat trick with 1:28 remaining, scoring three goals in 2:14 of game time. In total, seven different Ladies scored a goal in the first half.

The second half got off to a shaky start on Kenyon's side as Wittenberg cut the deficit to eight with two goals in a span of 1:13. After a timeout, Kenyon regrouped and scored the next five to take a comfortable 17-4 edge with 15:42 left in the game.



Myers scored two of those five goals. Katelyn Schwartz and Caitlin Augerson also got in the score column as the eighth and ninth Ladies to score a goal in the contest.

Wittenberg added on four more in the remainder of the game as Kenyon coasted to victory.

Hudson-Heck added her fourth goal of the game with 5:25 to go after the Tigers had scored four to cut the lead to 17-7. A goal in the final second by Emily Wadds brought the game to the 18-8 final score. Wadds was one of three Wittenberg players with two-point games. Victoria Zysik led the Tigers with four goals.

In addition to the three hat tricks, the Ladies had multiple-point efforts from two other players. Lucy Somers tied Hudson-Heck for the team-high with five points on two goals and three helpers, while Julia Mahoney added a goal and an assist. Maggie Grabowski collected nine draw controls in addition to her lone tally.

Kenyon starting goalie Allie Dumas got the win with five saves in 35:18 minutes of action. Carina Barnes relieved her and finished the game recording three saves.

As a team, Kenyon won the shot battle 36-19 and collected 21 ground balls to just 14 for the Tigers.

Next up, the Ladies will go on the road to play two teams that qualified for the 2017 NCAC tournament. First, the Ladies travel to Allegheny College on Wednesday, April 17 before heading to Oberlin on Saturday, April 21. The Ladies currently sit tied for third place in the conference with three games left on the regular-season schedule.