Women’s Lax Defeats Philly 13-7

A strong start by the women’s lacrosse team lead them to their second victory of the season against Philadelphia University, March 8, at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium.

The Pioneers got off to a hot start, going 7-0 in the first 14 minutes of the game. The first two goals were scored within the first two minutes by senior attacker Connor Bird with assists from freshman attacker Jill LoManto and freshman mid fielder Alyssa Mallery. Senior attacker Stefanie Vaelatos also scored two goals in the first half along with two assists throughout the rest of the game. Sophomore mid fielder Ryan McKinney and freshman attacker Jill LoManto each scored a goal during the first half to give the Pioneers an 8-3 lead going into halftime.

Although the Pioneers started off strong again during the second half, the Rams were able to keep the home team’s offense from scoring for nearly 20 minutes in the middle of the final half while closing their deficit to four points with just five minutes left to play.

Junior goalkeeper Olivia Kirk was able to make eight saves for the home team, and the Pioneers led the Rams in draws 15-7.

Head coach Meghan McNamara said that they should utilize their speed more offensively. “Unfortunately, our shooting percentage was quite low,” McNamara said after the game. “So I think that had a factor in a little bit of our confidence.” As a result, she said her team will make some tweaks on the defensive end to help better control the tempo.

The Pioneers will return to action March 22 when they travel to Rockville Centre, NY to take on Molloy College at 7 pm.