The Youngstown State women's lacrosse team shined offensively in its 21-18 victory over Gardner-Webb at the Watson and Tressel Training Site on Tuesday.
The Penguins improve to 2-5 on the season while the Runnin' Bulldogs fall to 1-7.
Natalie Calandra-Ryan led the Penguins with seven goals to complete a day for the record books. She tallied 13 draw controls, the highest single-game total in program history. She also tied the program record for assists and points with five and 12, respectively. In addition, she led the Penguins with three ground balls and three caused turnovers.
Erin Clark recorded five goals on six shots while Ali Korin and Ally Garrett also delivered hat tricks with three goals apiece. Sydney Bumstead found the back of the net twice while Jordan Miller scored once for the Penguins.
Youngstown State recorded season-highs in goals scored (21), points (30), shots (38), and draw controls (25).
Goalies Mikaela Staranko and Jacqueline Cornell each played a half for the Penguins, with Staranko making two saves and Cornell adding one.
The Runnin' Bulldogs were led by Jada Preston with four goals and Aimie Perino who scored three.
Korin delivered the first Penguin score of the day at the 12:34 mark of the first quarter before Garrett found the back of the net less than a minute later, making the score 2-1.
YSU answered two Gardner-Webb goals with two of their own by Miller and Calandra-Ryan to make the score 4-3 with 7:40 left in the first quarter.
The Runnin' Bulldogs scored two more goals, before the Penguin' scored five in a row to take a commanding four-point lead, 9-5, at the 13:32 mark of the second quarter. The Guins would not trail again in the game.
During the five-goal scoring run, Garrett, Calandra-Ryan, Clark, and Korin (2) found the back of the net.
Gardner-Webb broke its scoring drought with a single goal, but the Penguins went on another run, scoring three unanswered, culminating in a Calandra-Ryan goal off a perfect pass from Miller, to give the Penguins a six-point lead, 12-6, with 6:25 to play until halftime.
YSU entered halftime with a five-point lead, 13-8, after Clark found the back of the net in between two Gardner-Webb goals.
The Runnin' Bulldogs delivered the first score of the second half, but YSU scored three goals in under two minutes of play to take their largest lead of the game, 16-9, at the 9:15 mark of the third quarter. Calandra-Ryan scored twice while Clark scored once during the run.
Following Youngstown State's run, Gardner-Webb scored seven of the next eight goals to get within one point of the Penguins, 17-16, at the 10:36 mark of the fourth quarter.
YSU then scored back-to-back goals when Bumstead fired an Aryss Lindsey pass into the net followed by an unassisted goal by Calandra-Ryan. Gardner-Webb answered with two goals of their own to return the margin to one goal with just a few minutes remaining, 19-18.
Youngstown State closed out the remaining minutes with back-to-back goals by Clark and Bumstead to seal the Penguins' victory.
The Penguins will return to action on Sunday, March 19 when they visit Canisius in Buffalo, N.Y. First draw at the Demske Sports Complex is set for noon.
