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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Kennesaw State women's lacrosse team couldn't keep the potent Vanderbilt offense at bay, falling to the Commodores 20-11 Saturday afternoon despite five goals from Siena Gore.
 
How it happened: The game started off hot as the Owls (0-2) and Commodores (2-0) traded goals in the opening minutes. Gore netted her first goal of the day to get the Owls on the board, 1-1, at the 25:03 mark. 
 
Vanderbilt responded with back-to-back goals off the ensuing draw controls, but Jennifer Buckley and Anna Giulitto kept KSU in it with two straight goals to keep both teams level, 3-3. After trading goals, with Marissa Gore recording her first goal of the year, the Commodores proceeded to go on a 4-0 run to take an 8-4 lead with 14 minutes to play.
 
Freshman Kelly Emge finally broke Vandy's run, scooping up the rebound on a missed shot and burying the second chance effort to pull one back for KSU and record her first career goal. Siena Gore recorded one more goal in the half, but the Commodores closed out the opening period with a 6-1 scoring advantage to lead the Owls 14-6 at halftime. 
 
The Vanderbilt defense held off KSU throughout the first half, but when the Owls found a gap, they made the most of their chances scoring six goals on seven shots in the opening period.
 
Vandy kept its momentum rolling to open the second half with two goals in the first few minutes.  After Gore scored the Owls' first goal of the half, the Commodores answered with back-to-back goals to take an 18-17 lead at the 17:14 mark. 
 
The Owls chipped away at Vanderbilt's lead with a 3-0 run featuring Giulitto's second goal of the game, sandwiched by two more goals from Gore to pull KSU within 10, 18-10. The Commodores logged two more goals before Izzy Palermo recorded the final score of the game with 5:29 to play.
 
Notes: Siena Gore led the team with five goals, her sixth career game with five or more goals, netting back-to-back hat tricks to open the season … Anna Giullito recorded three points in the game with two goals and one assist … Marissa Gore had another tremendous defensive display, recording career-highs in draw controls (5) and caused turnovers (4) while scooping up three ground balls … Maura Palandro recorded three ground balls and two caused turnovers … Vanderbilt had 30 shots on goal compared to 13 for the Owls … Alex Bunn finished with 10 saves.
 
Up next: The Owls host Marquette for their home-opener next Saturday (Feb. 23) at 1 p.m.