JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Six points from Danielle Della Rocca, five goals from Courtney Valdez, and a swarming defense lifted Jacksonville University (7-4, 4-0) to a 22-7 throttling of the Detroit Mercy Titans (2-10, 0-5) Friday at D.B. Milne Field
First Half
Jacksonville took a 9-3 lead into the half thanks to a quick start. Valdez scored just over a minute into the game, and Della Rocca followed 30 seconds later at 28:29. Lillie Miller pushed it to a 3-0 lead on Abby Remennap’s first assist of the game at 16:31.
A Brianna Plester score halted the surge at 24:54 before the Dolphins scored another trio of goals, this time by Emily Barton, Genie Santarpio, and Jaime Chapman.
Lexie Kinmond scored twice for the visitors at 18:24 and 14:13, with a Della Rocca score in between. Hannah Wilcox at the 3:33 mark and Kasey Stevens with 10 seconds remaining finished the Dolphin scoring.
Second Half
The Dolphins followed a similar recipe to open the second half, scoring three goals before the Titans’ first at 24:02. Valdez scored the first two, the latter behind-the-back on a Della Rocca assist. Wilcox also chipped in a net-buster.
After Detroit Mercy reeled off two more scores, Jacksonville got back in rhythm with another Valdez buzzer off a MacEllen McDonough helper at 20:21.
Della Rocca scored on a free position shot at 18:56, Santarpio also on a free position at 18:38, and Valdez extended the lead to 10 at 17:07.
Olivia Alvarez then enjoyed her comeback to the field with consecutive goals at 14:08 and 12:34, and Della Rocca scored one more on a Miller assist at 8:07. Jody Julmice converted a free position shot at 4:48, and McDonough made it a two-touchdown lead at 3:39. Stevens closed the JU scoring with 2:12 left in the game.
Quote
“I thought that we had a lot of depth today with many players contributing at a high level. Collectively, that is hard to stop. In the first half, we were steady, but we came out in the second half and got a big lead. It starts with possessions and our ability to finish. We want to continue to grow and make quicker adjustments, but overall, I think the ebb and flow of the game and standard of play is very high.”- JU Head Coach Mindy McCord
Scoops
Jacksonville outshot Detroit Mercy, 53-14, and won 20 of 31 draw controls. The Dolphins picked up 30 ground balls to the Titans’ 13, and went 13-14 in clear attempts while holding the visitors to 12-20. Detroit Mercy committed 25 turnovers while Jacksonville had only nine.
Ashtyn Hiron led the team with five ground balls, and Wilcox had three caused turnovers. Sydney Matthews advanced to 7-2 with the win and Mariah Cudlipp had one save.
Della Rocca, the ASUN Conference’s all-time leader in points and goals, is 17 goals away from tying Morgan Derner (2011-14) for the Dolphin record, and Valdez is within three points of 100 in her career.
Jacksonville has now won 28 consecutive ASUN games continues a four-game home stand with a noon tilt against Central Michigan on Sunday, Apr. 9.