ORANGE, Calif. (Mar. 6, 2024) – Junior Juliana Hodgson (Fullerton, Calif. / Sunny Hills) of the Whittier College women's lacrosse team continued the hot start to her intercollegiate lacrosse career, scoring multiple goals in a game for the third time this season as well as contributing in every offensive and defensive area against Chapman University.

Hodgson scored twice on a pair of unassisted goals. Meanwhile, senior Juli Veneri (Hawaii Kai, Hawaii / Kaiser), a teammate of Hodgson's on the women's soccer team, scored her first goal of the season in the second half. Venerti's goal would be quickly followed up by a goal from Hodgson just 50 seconds later, making that stretch the strongest of the Whittier women's lacrosse season thus far. All the while, the Poets once again had to endure the elements, as a storm that began earlier in the afternoon carried into the night.

Hodgson's contributions, however, extended far beyond her goal creation. The junior added three ground balls, which tied teammate Mackenzie Crecelius (Long Beach, Calif. / Millikan) for the team lead. She also caused a turnover, and came out on the right side of five draw controls. In net, freshman goalie Peyton Vannatter posted a strong game, stopping half the shots she faced en route to a 14-save performance, which marks a career-high total for the rookie netminder.

Head Coach Leslie Escobar and the Poets will have some time to recalibrate from their busy early-season schedule. They will return next Wednesday for a special 11 a.m. start time during Spring Break, when they host Whitman College from up north.
 

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