Trio of hat tricks lead 'Dogs to victory at Winthrop

Monday, February 17

Rock Hill, SC

8:00 AM PT

Fresno State

0-1

Winthrop

0-1

Fresno State

WINTHROP

Photo by: Keith Kountz

Trio of hat tricks lead 'Dogs to victory at Winthrop

2/17/2020 11:15:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

By: Savannah Stoeckle / Communications Assistant

ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Fresno State women's lacrosse team completed its trip to South Carolina with a 17-12 President's Day win at Winthrop. The game had five ties in the first 30 minutes, but Fresno State came out of the halftime intermission and went on a 6-0 run to ultimately close out their East Coast win on Monday.

Three Bulldogs scored hat tricks against Winthrop. Fresno State was led by senior midfielder Kayla Galet who scored six goals in the win, including three in the Bulldogs' 6-0 run to start the second half. Galet tied her single-game personal record on Monday. Sophomore attacker Sydney Skalstad and junior attacker Megan Walaitis also contributed with hat tricks as Walaitis had four goals and Skalstad had three.

The Bulldogs had 10 assists on their 17 goals. Junior attacker Lauren Kiszely tied a single-game program record with five assists while Marina Mayo and Hannah Krats added two apiece, and Walaitis had one.

Senior goalkeeper Laurel Maunder had five saves on the day.

How it happened
A balanced attack on both sides kept things tight throughout the first half. Galet scored in the first 90 seconds of play before Winthrop would go on to take a 2-1 lead in the following three minutes. Walaitis scored her first goal of the game to tie things at two apiece before Winthrop would score back-to-back to regain its lead. Bulldog goals from Mayo and Walaitis tied the game yet again, this time at four, with 17:45 remaining in the first half.

The Eagles found a way to win the draws and score twice more to take a 6-4 lead before Mayo fired away again to close the gap. It seemed as if the 'Dogs couldn't get ahead as Winthrop's Lauren Asher scored to give it a 7-5 lead, but Fresno State's offensive efforts were not disabled as Galet and Wallace scored back-to-back goals to tie the game again, with 7:08 on the clock.

Asher scored again on a free-position goal to give Winthrop a slight lead as time wound down on the first half clock. The final five minutes of the first half was the longest amount of time that passed without a goal in the half. As the clock wound down to the final minute, and possession with the Eagles, freshman Hennessey Evans grabbed the ground ball after a Winthrop turnover with 11 seconds on the clock. Galet worked her way down the field and netted her third goal of the game with just two seconds left on the clock before halftime.

The game was tied 8-8 at halftime, and would end up being the final time the game was tied.

The fire in the Bulldog offense was burning bright as Galet opened the second half with back-to-back goals, including a free-position goal. Junior Hannah Krats won the following draw control, drove to the net and was fouled, then made her free-position shot to put Fresno State on top 11-8 with 27:52 on the clock.

Skalstad and Galet combined for three more Bulldog goals for a 14-8 lead before Winthrop could score its first goal of the second half with 17:52 remaining. The Eagles turned that into a 4-0 run to cut the Bulldog lead to just two with 8:09 left.

Walaitis shot for her hat trick to end the Eagles' run, and then scored again less than 30 seconds later as Skalstad grabbed the draw control to set Walaitis up for the goal. Skalstad continued her success with the draw following Walitis' second goal, but this time kept it and scored herself for the third Bulldog goal in just over one minute of clock time to give Fresno State its 17-12 lead.

As time wound down in the second half, the Bulldog defense stayed strong as Winthrop took just one shot in the final seven minutes of play.

Game Notes

Fresno State had three hat tricks - its most in a game since having three at Stetson on Mar. 3, 2019.
Fresno State had its most assists (10) since having the same against Oregon on Feb. 17, 2019.
Fresno State earned its first win under interim head coach Kara Concheck.
Kayla Galet scored her most goals in a game since six vs. Presbyterian on Mar. 3, 2017.
Galet scored the most goals in a game by any Bulldog since Hannah Krats scored six at Bryant on Mar. 29, 2019.
Lauren Kiszely tied a program record with five assists in a game. The record was set in 2012.
Fresno State led in shots (36-22), ground balls (22-17) and draw controls (18-13).
Fresno State scored its most points in a road game since winning at Bryant on Mar. 29, 2019 (18-12).
The Bulldogs had five players with caused turnovers.
Jordyn Pandolfo and Hennessey Evans led the team with four ground balls.
Sydney Skalstad led with six draw controls, and Pandolfo and Krats had four apiece.

Up Next - Fresno State moves to 1-1 on the season and the Bulldogs are set to host Stetson for their 2020 home opener on Sat. Feb. 22 at noon. Admission and parking to the Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium are free.

"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley '' – The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in life. To become a BDF member, please visit bulldogfoundation.org.

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