Lady Owls clipped in home opener

Pat Longobardi, Sports Editor: 

Znaniecki and Kelsey Bub had four goals each for Mercy College as they defeated Southern’s women’s lacrosse team, 21-8, in Southern’s non-conference opener on March 10 at Jess Dow Field.

Mercy scored first at 28:18 on a free-position shot from freshman Meesha Robinson.

Mercy then jumped out to a 7-0 lead with 16:59 left in the first half.

Southern scored its first goal of the season at 14:47 when junior Elaina Heiple scored an unassisted goal, making it 7-1. Freshman Sarah Clark then scored, assisted by Heiple, cutting the lead to 7-2 with 13:56 left in the half. This would be the closest Southern would get for the rest of the game.

Mercy led at halftime, 12-4.

Southern head coach Kelley Frassinelli said although Southern lost the game, it was not a disappointing game overall.

“We had some nice moments,” said Frassinelli. “We had a little more confidence, but we made some unfortunate decisions.”

In the second half, Mercy extended its lead right away when Znaniecki scored her third goal at 29:48, making it 13-4.

Southern then scored back-to-back goals from Clark and Heiple, cutting the lead to 13-6 with 27:14 left in the game.

Mercy went on a 7-0 run with 4:07 left in the game to take its biggest lead of the game, 21-7.

Mercy head coach Francesca DeLorenzo said the team played pretty consistently.

“Well, the goals were really widespread,” said DeLorenzo. “Our attackers were able to have open cutters, and get second cuts off of the ball.”

Southern had 41 fouls in the game. Mercy had 22. Mercy went 5-13 on free-position shots. Southern had 23 turnovers in the game. Mercy, had 17 turnovers.

“Well, this was an early game in the season,” said DeLorenzo. “We are in the East Coast Conference, so we need to stay competitive, keep our focus and prepare for upcoming games against teams on our schedule like C.W. Post, who are ranked number three.”

Heiple was Southern’s leading scorer overall. Heiple had five points, scoring four goals on six shots, and one assist.

“Elaina is a very good player and she is one of our key attackers,” said Frassinelli. “She [Elaina] has a great eye, she creates goals, and she is so aware of the field.”

Clark had three points overall, scoring three goals on three shots. 

Graduate Marissa Ryan had one point overall, scoring one goal on three shots.

Bub was Mercy’s leading scorer overall, contributing six points on seven shots, and two assists. Znaniecki had five points on seven shots. Freshman Tracey Wandle had five points overall, scoring three goals on three shots, and two assists. Sophomore Marissa Hurley had four points overall, scoring three goals while taking 10 shots.

Southern sophomore goalie Colleen Gore made 14 saves, and allowed 21 goals in 60 minutes of play. Mercy sophomore goalie Stephanie DiLegge made six saves giving up eight goals in 60 minutes of play. Mercy took 45 shots in the game. Southern took 17 shots.

There was one penalty in the game as Mercy’s Wandle received a yellow card within the first five seconds of the game.

Mercy is still undefeated at 3-0 overall this season. Southern is 0-1.

Southern’s next game is at home against Queens College on March 17 at Jess Dow Field.