Women’s Lacrosse Marches On

By Thomas Scavetta
Assistant Sports Editor

Things continue to look better for the fourth-ranked women’s lacrosse team (7-1) as they inked another pair of wins to extend their winning streak to six games. In their first game on Wednesday, March 23, they smothered Molloy College by a score of 16-6, in an East Coast Conference collision at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium in Brookville, N.Y.

In what was another impressive start, the Pioneers jumped out of the gates early and took a commanding 4-0 lead in the first seven minutes of action. The stretch was capped off by junior attacker Stefani Vagelatos who scored an unassisted goal at the 23-minute mark.

Molloy would split the deficit midway through the opening stanza, but the Pioneers offense soared for five consecutive goals within seven minutes to go up 9-2. Junior attacker Connor Bird led the charge, notching two scores for the Green and Gold.

After leading 9-3 at the break, the Pioneers continued the offensive assault by scoring six out of the next eight goals to grab a comfortable 15-5 edge. The hosts never looked back, as senior attacker Emily Delaney and junior defender/midfielder Cara Douglas sealed the deal; combining for three scores in the final minutes of the contest.

Vagelatos, Delaney and Bird all racked up five points apiece. In addition, senior midfielder/defender Honey Roche won a gamehigh eight draws and caused one turnover. Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Kirk was a force, rejecting seven shots, picking up four ground balls and causing a pair of turnovers.

Momentum carried over for the Pioneers as they tumbled over Holy Family University (0-8), 18-6 on Saturday, March 26, behind the lights of Delaney, who totaled a career-high 11 points (4 G, 7 A) in a nonconference matchup at Tiger Field in Philadelphia, PA.

Roche had another solid outing with five points (4 G, 1 A) as freshman Ryan McKinney continued to impress, scoring three goals for the Pioneers. Tied at one with under 20 minutes remaining in the openi ng period, the Pioneers went on a 7-1 run to carry an 8-2 lead into the break. McKinney and red-shirt junior attacker Alexis Newman scored two goals each during that juncture.

In the second half, Holy Family scored first, but it was all Pioneers from that point on. The Pioneers responded with a vengeance; closing out the game on a 10-2 run. Roche accounted for four tallies to lead the Pioneers during the latter stanza.

The Pioneers balanced attack continued to shine as they held a heavy margin in shots (40-16) and caused 21 turnovers. Between the pipes, Kirk and senior goalie Kasey Kephart totaled six stops for the Green and Gold. For the Tigers, goalkeeper Grace Deckert made 14 saves.

Head Coach Meghan McNamara and her team return to action Saturday, April 2, when they host ==top-ranked Adelphi University at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium. Opening draw is slated for 1 p.m