Strong Second Half Powers Women's Lacrosse Past Albertus Magnus
Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Elms College women's lacrosse team used a strong second half effort to defeat host Albertus Magnus, 9-3, in non-conference action Monday afternoon at Celentano Field. The Blazers improve to 2-3 on the season, while Albertus Magnus drops to 1-6 overall.
The Blazers struck first in the ninth minutes of play as junior attacker Ashley Cava (Wilbraham, Mass.) converted an unassisted tally to give Elms the 1-0 advantage. Just over four minutes later, the Blazers pushed their lead to 2-0 as freshman defender Kieran Ramsey (Easthampton, Mass.) delivered a pass to senior midfielder Kayla Narey (South Hadley, Mass.), who beat Albertus Magnus junior goalkeeper Maria Case (West Haven, Conn.) for her first goal of the day.
The Falcons rallied back down the stretch with two quick strikes in the span of a minute. With 8:42 remaining in the first half, AMC freshman midfielder Nikki Kern (Wallingford, Conn.) cut the deficit in half with a unassisted tally, followed by a strike from junior attacker Kelly Kennedy (North Branford, Conn.) to knot the game at 2-2 with 7:40 on the clock. The team remained even at 2-2 heading into halftime.
Elms regained control of the scoreboard in the opening minutes of the second half with senior attacker Nora McDonough (South Hadley, Mass.) netting a free position goal on a man-down situation for the Blazers. At the 24:21 mark of the second half, Narey converted off a dish from Cava to build a 4-2 cushion for Elms. Just over two minutes later, junior attacker Jillian Pirog (Ludlow, Mass.) got on the scoresheet with her first goal of the day.
With 20:11 to play, Narey amassed her second hat trick of the season, scoring off a pass from McDonough to extend the Blazers advantage to 6-2. Less than a minute later, the Falcons trimmed their deficit to three behind a tally from freshman attacker Jenny Luna (Brentwood, N.Y.). A strong effort from the Blazers defensive backfield kept Albertus Magnus off the scoreboard for the remainder of the contest.
Elms junior defender Emily Brown (Agawam, Mass.) registered her first goal of the season, converting a pass from Pirog at the 13:10 mark. Pirog sealed the win for the Blazers with a pair of goals during the 56th minute to send Elms to the 9-3 victory.
Pirog led all scorers with four points, recording her second hat trick with an assist. Narey added three goals, while McDoungh dished out a pair of assists in the win.
The Blazers outshot the Falcons, 37-21, during the contest, and won draw controls, 9-5. The Falcons snared 25 groundballs to 13 groundballs for Elms, and the Blazers caused more turnovers, 15-6. Blazers sophomore goalkeeper Meeghan O'Connor (2-3; Fall River, Mass.) stopped 11 shots, while Case made a game-high 21 saves for Albertus Magnus.
Elms will look to continue their winning ways with a road trip to Fitchburg State (2-1) Thursday night for a 7:00 p.m. draw. The Falcons host Simmons College in GNAC conference action Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
ELMS LACROSSE
