Posted: Mar 17, 2015

Wentworth Outlasts Women's Lacrosse in Home Opener

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College women's lacrosse team was unable to withstand a second-half surge from visiting Wentworth Institute of Technology, as the Blazers fell to the Leopards, 15-9, in a non-conference battle at Leary Field Tuesday afternoon.

The Blazers wasted little time cracking the scoreboard, as freshman midfielder Alissa Porfilio (Agawam, Mass.) netted her first career goal on an unassisted strike in the opening twenty seconds of play. The Leopards knotted the match at 1-1 with a free-position goal from senior midfielder Alexandrea Banks (Ellington, Conn.) with 24:33 to play in the first half. After nearly 10 minutes of scoreless play, the Leopards took a 2-1 lead as senior midfielder Jessica Houghton (Billerica, Mass.) converted a pass from senior defender Hailey Cyr (Barre, Vt.), staking WIT to a 2-1 advantage. Elms senior midfielder Kayla Narey (South Hadley, Mass.) tied the game at 2-2 with 13:07 on the clock with an unassisted tally. A goal from Houghton regained the lead for the Panthers, but Elms rallied with goals from junior attacker Ashley Cava (Wilbraham, Mass.) and freshman midfielder Jackie Soucia (Belchertown, Mass.), her first career goal, to regain a 4-3 lead. The Leopards clawed back with back-to-back goals from Banks and junior attacker Pam Mudge (Hooksett, N.H.). The Blazers evened the score before the break with a tally from junior attacker Jillian Pirog (Ludlow, Mass.), sending the teams into the break tied at 5-5.

Wentworth matched the Blazers by netting a goal in the opening twenty seconds of the second half as sophomore attacker Brandie Holland (Lynn, Mass.) scored off a pass from Mudge to put the Leopards up 6-5. With 20:52 to play, Elms freshman Victoria-Lynn Smith (Somers, Conn.) beat Wentworth senior keeper Robyn Pacini (Stoneham, Mass.) on a free-position shot, knotting the game at 6-6. Banks netted her third goal of the game with a man-down unassisted strike in the 40^th minute. The Blazers quickly answered as freshman attacker Savana Hennessey (Chicopee, Mass.) delivered a touch pass to the front of Leopards goal for the finish from Cava, her second of the game.

The Leopards pulled away with a four-goal spurt in a five-minute span, kicked off with a goal from sophomore midfielder Molly Dufresne (Plaistow, N.H.) at the 17:50 mark. Banks delivered a free position strike three minutes later, followed by a quick goal from Mudge. Banks registered her third free-position tally of the contest to extend the Wentworth advantage to 11-7 with 12:29 on the clock. An unassisted goal from Pirog put the Blazers back on the scoreboard with 3:21 remaining. Wentworth put the game away with four goals in the final two-plus minutes of play, featuring a pair from Dufresne, to secure the 15-9 victory.

"We played really well today," said Elms Head Coach Maureen Ruane. "It's a vast improvement over last year. I'm happy with the way the girls came together as a team, and we are on to the next game. In the first half, we held possession of the ball a majority of the time, which allowed us to settle and get back. Our defense and midfield play was a strength for us today. We need to improve on the scoring end with finishing our chances and placing our shots better, along with our gametime stamina and being able to run for a whole 60 minutes."

The Blazers had eight players recorded a point during the contest, led by two-goal efforts from Cava, Pirog, and Lynn-Smith. Soucia, Porfilio, and Narey netted a goal each, while Hennessey and senior defender Nora McDonough (South Hadley, Mass.) dished out assists.

Banks led all scorers with a game-high five goals and an assist. Dufresne notched three goals with an assist, while Mudge added two goals and two assists. Houghton finished with three goals, and Holland scored a pair in the win.

The Blazers and Leopard finished even in the shot column with 31 shots apiece. Elms sophomore Meeghan O'Connor (0-3; Fall River, Mass.) recorded nine saves, while Leopards junior keeper Hayley Patton (Cranston, R.I.) made six saves and Pacini (1-0) stopped eight shots in the second half.

The Blazers drop to 0-3 on the season, while Wentworth picks up their first win to move to 1-0. Elms will return to action with a road trip to Sage College Thursday night for a 7:00 p.m. faceoff. The Leopards visit Wheelock College Thursday afternoon for a 4:30 p.m. game.

ELMS LACROSSE