WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wells took advantage of 11 first half goals to earn an 18-3 win over Salem in lacrosse action at Varsity Field on Wednesday, March 11.

Wells (1-1) was led offensively by the trio of Savanah Connors (five goals), Kari Jensen (four) and Jayla Speers (three). Teammate Chloe Marcus added two goals for the Express, who attempted 34 shots in the game.

Wells was led in net by Kaylin Barbour, who finished with six saves, including five in the first half. Jensen was also active with five caused turnovers, while Mackenzie Powers and Alisa Hines added three each. Aarika Mansfield snagged six ground balls, while Connors and Hines contributed four apiece.

The Spirits (1-5), who played man down the entire game, received one goal each from the combination of Sara Jimenez, Collette Vladimery and Anzley Kemmerer. Jimenez attempted seven shots over the course of the game, while picking up two ground balls.

Vladimery made her presence on defense as well for Salem with nine ground balls, while teammate Cara James added three. Vladimery was one of three players with multiple caused turnovers (three) for the Salem defense.

Hannah Ostlund finished with 11 saves in bet for Salem, coming through with six in the opening frame.

Wells built an 11-1 lead by the intermission, capitalizing on three goals each by Connors and Jensen as well as two from Marcus. Teammate Erin Persons also came through with two assists in the opening frame.

The Express began the game with four unanswered goals, including a strike by Speers at the 26:10 mark to open the game. Connors capped off the four-goal stretch with back-to-back goals at the 21:09 and 16:29 marks.

Vladimery notched the goal for the Spirits at just over the half way mark, but Wells followed with seven straight goals, including three off the stick of Jensen.

Wells netted three goals inside the first 6:35 of the second half, stretching its lead to 14-1 in the process. Kemmerer drove home the second goal of the afternoon for the Spirits at the 20:56 mark and Jimenez added a goal just over six minutes later to make for a 14-3 contest.

Connors tallied her final goal of the game with 6:49 remaining ahead of strikes by Jensen and Speers as the Express claimed their first win of the season.

The Spirits will now head to Huntingdon on Sunday, March 15 to clash with the Hawks. Game time is set for 2 p.m. For more information on Salem lacrosse check out www.salemspirits.com.