Women's Lacrosse Dispatches Bay Path

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

LONGMEADOW, Mass. – The Elms College women's lacrosse team cruised to a 17-2 victory over host Bay Path University in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) contest at Ryan Field Wednesday afternoon. With the win, the Blazers rise to 3-0 overall, and 2-0 in conference play, while Bay Path drops to 0-2 in the NECC and 1-3 on the season.

The Blazers jumped on the Wildcats early in the first half as freshman Janis Christian (Westfield, Mass.) potted a pair of goals in the first three minutes of action to stake Elms to a 2-0 lead. Sophomores Mackenzie Hill (Brownfield, Maine) and Vanessa Vurno (Salem, Conn.) fired back-to-back goals in the fourth minute of play to push the Blazers ahead 4-0. Elms pulled away for good with five goals in a four-minute span, featuring a goal and an assist from junior Alissa Porfilio (Agawam, Mass.), extending the Blazers advantage to 9-0 with 21:28 on the clock.

Elms freshman Haley Richard (Monson, Mass.) sandwiched a pair of strikes around tallies from senior Kathleen Tuechler (Farmingdale, N.Y.) and freshman Alecia Keesee (Westfield, Mass.) to build a 13-0 gap. Junior Jackie Soucia (Belchertown, Mass.) netted the final goal of the half to make it 14-0 at the break.

The Wildcats ended their scoreless drought in the 33^rd minute behind an unassisted goal from junior Kaylee Herring (Worcester, Vt.). Keesee deposited two second-half goals, along with another tally from Tuechler as the Blazers locked up the 17-2 victory.

Keesee registered a career-high four goals to pace the Blazers offense. Richard added three goals and an assist, while Hill, Tuechler, Soucia, and Christian scored two goals apiece. Senior Meeghan O'Connor (Fall River, Mass.) made a season-high eight saves in the win.

The Blazers will be back in action when they host Regis College in a NECC clash at Leary Field Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Bay Path travels to Newbury for an NECC contest at 1:00 p.m.

ELMS LACROSSE