The first Division I women’s game of the 2021 season was a wild one.

Taking on High Point for the first time since 2012, Jacksonville trailed by six goals when Mena Loescher fed Abby Hormes early in the second half. But the Dolphins woke up, scoring 10 of the last 13 goals to walk away with a 14-13 season-opening victory.

Sarah Elms, who scored four goals, gave Jacksonville the lead with 48 seconds left when she buried a free position attempt.

Sarah Elms with the winner with 48 seconds left @JAX_WLAX takes the first game of the D-I women’s season 14-13 over @hpuwlax pic.twitter.com/L0HZWM9mxX

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 12, 2021

Elms, who was highlighted in US Lacrosse Magazine’s “A-to-Z” preview of the 2021 season, was a force. She missed the 2019 season after posting 63 goals and 17 assists in 2018, and she began to show signs of her skill in 2020 before the season was canceled.

It appears as if she’s back. She was one of seven different scorers during that 10-3 run to close the game, highlighting Jacksonville’s offensive depth.

Many team categories were virtually even in the contest, though Jacksonville cleared 14 of 17 draws compared to High Point clearing 14 of 24.

Duke Wins Surprising Close Contest

Duke never trailed, nor did the Blue Devils look back after scoring the first four goals of a 16-11 win over Davidson. But Davidson put up more of a fight against the preseason No. 15 team than maybe some expected.

Catherine Cordrey led all scorers with four goals, and Penn transfer Gabby Rosenzweig tallied two goals and two assists in her Duke debut. The Blue Devils won 20 of 29 draw controls and out-shot Davidson 36-21, but the Wildcats didn’t go down easily.

Duke went into halftime with a 10-5 lead, but Davidson opened the second half by scoring five of the first seven goals, trimming the lead to 12-10 with 11:08 left on a free-position goal by Sam Rippley.

That’s as close as the Wildcats would come. Duke scored the next four goals, bookended by tallies from Olivia Carner, and put the game out of reach.

Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20

No. 15 Duke 16, Davidson 11
No. 20 Virginia Tech 13, Liberty 5

Other Scores

East Carolina 16, Furman 14
Gardner-Webb v. Kennesaw State, PPD
Jacksonville 14, High Point 13
VCU 11, Old Dominion 7