CLEMSON, S.C. – No. 12/10 Clemson women’s lacrosse opened its 2026 season with a statement on Saturday, overpowering Vanderbilt 20–5 behind a blistering first half, a balanced scoring effort and a standout day in the draw circle. The Tigers led wire‑to‑wire, building a 13–2 halftime advantage and never looking back.
Brooke Goldstein paced Clemson with five goals, two assists and two ground balls, while Mikaela Mooney added three goals, an assist and a ground ball. Aubrie Eisfeld recorded a hat trick and Alexa Spallina posted two goals and five assists, tying the program’s single‑game assists record. Emma Penczek delivered two goals, an assist, three ground balls, five draw controls and five caused turnovers, matching the second‑most caused turnovers in a single game for Clemson. Kayla MacLeod scored twice with an assist and Bridget Babcock added a goal, two assists and a draw control. Natalie Shurtleff contributed two assists to reach 101 career points. As a team, Clemson tied the program’s second‑most assists in a game (14) and fifth‑most points in a game (34). In her first game in almost three years due to injury, Anna Brown scored the 20th goal of the day for Clemson.
FIRST QUARTER | 7-1, CLEMSON
After Shurtleff controlled the opening draw, Mooney buried Clemson’s first goal of the season just 37 seconds in off a feed from Spallina. The Tigers controlled possession early, rolling through a 4–0 run that featured two goals from Goldstein and a man‑up finish by MacLeod.
Goldstein completed her first‑quarter hat trick at the 2:18 mark, again assisted by Spallina, before Eisfeld (first-career goal) and Babcock added late goals to push Clemson’s lead to 7–1 after 15 minutes.
SECOND QUARTER | 13-2, CLEMSON
The Tigers kept their foot on the gas as Goldstein opened the frame with her fourth goal of the day and Mooney followed with back‑to‑back goals to complete her hat trick.
Spallina and Penczek each scored their first-career goals back-to-back, and MacLeod closed the half with her second of the afternoon off another Spallina assist. Clemson entered the break firmly in control, leading 13–2.
HALFTIME INTERVIEW
THIRD QUARTER | 16-4, CLEMSON
Clemson continued to dictate tempo after halftime with Spallina tallying her second goal of the game at 10:52, and Goldstein added her fifth (man‑up) to extend the lead. Eisfeld scored her second of the day late in the quarter, while goalkeeper Gigi Adamson delivered multiple key stops, including a save on a free‑position attempt.
FOURTH QUARTER | 20-5, CLEMSON
With both teams rotating personnel, Clemson’s depth shined. Freshman goalkeeper Tessa DeLuca opened the quarter with a save on Vanderbilt’s Shea Panzik, then later caused a turnover to spark a clear. Eisfeld completed her hat trick at the 11:34 mark off a feed from Shurtleff, pushing the Tigers to a 17–4 advantage.
Ella Pauley scored her first career goal with 6:34 remaining, and Penczek followed less than a minute later with her second of the afternoon. Brown scored the final goal of the day with a free‑position opportunity at 2:34, pushing the Tigers up 20-5. DeLuca added another late save to close out a strong debut appearance in goal.
POSTGAME INTERVIEWS
STATS RECAP
UP NEXT
The Tigers are back in action this Tuesday, Feb. 10 against Furman for a 6 p.m. match at the Clemson Lacrosse Complex.
TICKETS
Fans can purchase women’s lacrosse tickets at ClemsonTigers.com/Tickets/.
For complete coverage of Clemson’s women’s lacrosse program, follow @ClemsonWlax on X, Instagram and Facebook.
