Women's Lacrosse Upends Bay Path

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

LONGMEADOW, Mass. – The Elms College women's lacrosse squad rolled to a 23-4 victory in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) contest at Ryan Field Monday afternoon. With the win, the Blazers improve to 7-7 on the season, and 3-2 in NECC play, while Bay Path drops to 0-5 in conference action, and 0-9 overall. With 23 goals, the Blazers tie for the second-most goals in a game in program history, matching the mark set in a win over Bay Path in the 2013 season.

The Blazers raced to a 5-0 lead in the opening six minutes of play, featuring a pair of goals from senior Ashley Cava (Wilbraham, Mass.) and sophomore Jackie Soucia (Belchertown, Mass.). Trailing 6-0, the Wildcats got on the scoreboard in the seventh minute of play as junior Brenna Roy (Stafford Springs, Conn.) netted back-to-back goals to cut the deficit to 6-2. Elms sandwiched goals from senior Jillian Pirog (Ludlow, Mass.) around strikes from Soucia, freshman Vanessa Vurno (Salem, Conn.) and sophomore Madison Jung (Stafford Springs, Conn.) to build a 10-2 advantage.

Bay Path sophomore Elena Helming (Maplewood, N.J.) converted a free position goal to chip into the Blazers lead, but sophomore Madison Crawford (Bennington, Vt.) and freshman Mackenzie Hill (Brownfield, Maine) pushed the Elms advantage to 13-3. Wildcat sophomore Krystal Beauregard (Nashua, N.H.) delivered the final strike for Bay Path, while Soucia sandwiched goals around a tally from sophomore Victoria-Lynn Smith (Somers, Conn.) to hand Elms a 16-4 lead at the break.

The Blazers held the Wildcats off the scoreboard during the second half, while Soucia netted the first of seven second-half goals for Elms at the 28:34 mark. Sophomore Haley Roberts (Westfield, Mass.) scored just over two minutes later, followed by a coast-to-coast goal from senior Emily Brown (Agawam, Mass.) to give the Blazers a 19-4 lead. Soucia converted off a feed from Vurno with 16:35 to play, and then Cava found Pirog less than a minute later to make it 21-4. Graduate Danielle Jez (Westfield, Mass.) netted her first goal of the season at the 7:54 mark, followed by a put-back goal from Hill to send Elms to the 23-4 win.

The Blazers dominated the shot column, 38-14, while edging the Wildcats in draw controls, 17-12, and ground balls, 29-23, during the contest. Elms sophomore Octavia McAllister (Springfield, Mass.) made four saves for the Blazers, while Bay Path sophomore Bethany Rogers (Plymouth, Mass.) stopped a game-high nine saves and sophomore Amanda Adams (Mizpah, N.J.) made four saves in second half relief.

Soucia and Vurno registered a game-high six points each. Soucia netted a game-high five goals and an assist, while Vurno logged three goals and three assists. Cava added two goals and three assists, and Pirog notched four goals with a helper. Jung and Hill chipped in two goals apiece in the win.

Roy paced the Wildcats attack with two goals, while Beauregard and Helming contributed a goal each.

The Blazers will return to the field when they travel to Regis College for a conference match Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. Bay Path hosts Southern Vermont in conference play Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.

ELMS LACROSSE