MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - - Ella Royer scored seven goals and had eight points but it wasn't enough as the Wilmington University women's lacrosse team dropped its 2025 season opener at Millersville, 19-11, on Wednesday afternoon at Biemesderfer Stadium.
Millersville (1-0) scored the first three goals of the game and used a 25-8 advantage on the draw to keep the Wildcats (0-1) on their heels for a majority of the game. Freshmen netminders Ashleigh Lawry and Allison Schiavone combined to make 12 saves in their collegiate debuts to keep the Wildcats in the contest.
Ella Royer put the Wildcats on the board with six minutes left in the first quarter, scoring on a player-down situation. She scored again with 1:33 to play in the quarter, but the Marauders answered with 45 seconds left, taking a 5-2 lead into the second frame.
The home team than came out and scored the first three goals of the second quarter to take an 8-2 lead before Ella Royer scored off a feed from Mia Schultz for the first half hat trick. Millersville again went on a 3-0 run, taking an 11-3 lead with 5:14 showing on the clock. Royer added her fourth of the game before Tristan Holdsworth scored her first of the season to bring the Wildcats to within 11-5. Millersville scored one before the end of the half though, taking a 12-5 lead into the break.
Sophie Shive scored the first goal of the third quarter, looking to make a run and get back into the contest. But Millersville's defense shut down the Wildcats for the rest of the quarter, scoring three times to take a 15-6 lead into the fourth.
Anastasia Giannoulis scored her first of the first to start a 3-0 run for the Wildcats, as Ella Royer scored back-to-back goals to bring the Wildcats to within 16-9 with 6:34 to play. But that's as close as the Wildcats would get, as the Marauders answered with back-to-back goals to stem the tide.
Royer went 2-for-3 from the arc, scoring seven goals while adding an assist. She also led the Wildcats with six draws in the game. Anastasia Giannoulis scored two goals and added an assist. Kyla Stasium forced three turnovers and had two ground balls. Ashleigh Lawry had eight saves in the first half while Allison Schiavone had four saves in the second half.
The Wildcats stay on the road for their next contest, traveling to Shippensburg to take on the Raiders on Saturday afternoon. The opening draw is set for 12:00 p.m.