Pioneers Win; Soaring Eagles Fall
Utica 19, New England College 8
The Utica College women's lacrosse team picked up its fourth straight victory Friday afternoon as it downed host New England College 19-8 in non-conference action. Eight different players scored for the Pioneers.
Junior
Megan Kane recorded a game-high five points on four goals and one assist, while classmate
Morgan DuPont led all players with four assists on the day. Sophomores
Colleen Dowling and
Courtney Wheeler and freshman
Rebecca Plunkett each scored three times, while Plunkett also added a career-best eight draw controls.
Junior
Patricia Kane found the back of the net twice, as did classmate
Louise Steele-Norton in her first game back after competing with the women's ice hockey team. Trish Kane now has five goals in her last two outings. Seniors
Vanessa Maines and
Julia Primps rounded out the scoring with one goal each.
Sophomore
Erin Jacobson had a game-high 10 saves, while her counterpart, Mackenzie Meegan stopped eight shots in the loss. The Pioneers (4-1) return home next weekend as they open up Empire 8 play at home.
Buffalo State 11, Elmira 7
The Elmira College women's lacrosse team suffered a second consecutive setback as the Soaring Eagles dropped a close 11-7 contest to visiting Buffalo State. In just her second game back with EC,
Ashton Hogan '15 scored four goals and added an assist for a team-high five points.
Scoring came at a premium in the first half as neither team capitalized on their early chances. Elmira had two shots in the first 10 minutes ricochet off the crossbar while EC goaltender
LeAnna Presler '14 made three saves to keep the Bengals off the scoreboard. The Soaring Eagles took a quick 2-0 lead after
Kylie Connell'17 and Hogan netted the first goals of the game.
Buffalo State would respond with a pair of goals to tie the game at two with 10:32 to play in the opening half, but the rest of the half would be controlled by the Purple and Gold.
Marissa Mongillo'15 scored with 2:24 remaining in the first half and then
Moorea Spoljaric '16 made it a 4-2 game just 19 seconds later. EC won the ensuing draw and was awarded a free position attempt with 31 seconds left, but a turnover negated the attack leaving the Soaring Eagles with a two-goal advantage heading into the break.
Hogan opened the second half with her second goal of the afternoon, this one coming off a free position attempt, pushing EC's lead to three. The Bengals, however, would not go away as Becca Martinez would score three unanswered goals to knot the game up at five. Just over a minute after Martinez tied the game, Buffalo State would take their first lead of the contest.
The Bengals made it a 7-5 game with 17:02 left in regulation, but Hogan added her third and fourth goals of the contest to bring EC even again. Hogan's fourth and final goal forced a second goalie change for Buffalo State, with Colleen George taking over the responsibilities. The turning point of the game came with 9:28 to play when EC's Spoljaric got tangled up with Buffalo State's Martinez in front of the Bengals' net. Both players were assessed yellow cards and given two minute penalties, but the event was more detrimental for Elmira as it was Spoljaric's second yellow card of the day, disqualifying her for the remainder of the game. Spoljaric's absence proved to be costly as Buffalo State closed the game on a 4-0 run to close out the 11-7 win.
Buffalo State outshot EC 30-17, and put 20 of those shots on net.
LeAnna Presler '14 made nine saves, including a handful of impressive point-blank stops, to keep the Soaring Eagles in the game. Elmira won 11 of the 20 draw controls in the game, but the Bengals controlled the second half draws, winning eight of the 13 total.