Women's Lacrosse Blitzes Becker

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

LEICESTER, Mass. – The Elms College women's lacrosse team thumped host Becker, 13-3, during a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) matchup at Alumni Field Tuesday evening. The Blazers move to 3-1 on the season and 2-1 in the NECC, while Becker sits at 0-1 in league play and 1-6 overall.

After four minutes of scoreless play, Elms freshman Haley Richard (Monson, Mass.) put the Blazers on the board with an unassisted goal at the 25:20 mark. Richard struck again three minutes later, converting off a feed from junior Jackie Soucia (Belchertown, Mass.). Becker freshman Samantha Carter (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) found the back of the net on a free-position attempt in the ninth minute of action to cut the gap to 2-1.

The Blazers registered four unanswered goals to close out the first half, sparked by a connection between sophomore Vanessa Vurno (Salem, Conn.) and freshman Alecia Keesee (Westfield, Mass.) with 6:43 on the clock. Vurno found junior Haley Roberts (Westfield, Mass.) in front of the net for her first goal of the day, and then potted her first tally just thirty second later to extend the Elms advantage to 5-1. As the final seconds waned off the clock, junior Alissa Porfilio (Agawam, Mass.) scored off a pass from Vurno to hand the Blazers a 6-1 lead at the break.

The Blazers carried their offensive momentum into the second half with three straight goals, including a pair of connections between Soucia and Richard to develop a 9-1 lead with 25:28 to play. The Hawks returned to the scoring column with free-position goals from junior Marissa Turner (Coventry, R.I.) and freshman Cassandra Nelson (Exeter, N.H.), but Elms responded with strikes from Roberts and Porfilio to build an 11-3 gap. The Blazers added late strike from Richard and Soucia as Elms cruised to the 13-3 victory.

Vurno was an offensive catalyst for the Blazers, recording a game-high six points with a game-high five assists and a goal. Richard potted a game-high five goals, while Soucia notched five points with four assists and a goal. Porfilio registered her first career hat trick and Roberts chipped in two goals in the win.

The Blazers outshot the Hawks, 29-15, and won the draw control battle, 13-4. Elms senior Meeghan O'Connor (Fall River, Mass.) stopped seven shots, while Becker sophomore Nikolle Storey (Cumberland, Maine) made a game-high nine saves for the Hawks.

The Blazers make a non-conference road trip to Green Mountain Thursday night for a 7:00 p.m. game. Becker travels to Massachusetts Maritime Academy Thursday for a non-conference game at 7:00 p.m.

ELMS LACROSSE