Pat Longobardi, Sports Writer:
Assumption College had three players account for 12 goals, leading to a 19-2 win over Southern women’s lacrosse, in a Northeast-10 Conference game on April 6 at Jess Dow Field.
Southern had recently lost at St. Michael’s, 17-7, on April 2 in Colchester, Ver.
Junior defenseman Meaghan Daly scored first for Assumption with two straight goals to take an early 2-0 lead. Sophomore midfielder, Steph O’Rourke then scored two straight goals, giving Assumption
a 4-0 lead.
Midfielder Elaina Heiple put Southern on the board due to a free-position shot, making it 4-1 with 21:39 remaining in the half. Southern was gaining momentum to cut into the lead.
However, senior Caitlin White scored two straight goals, making it 7-1. Southern then called timeout with 14:18 remaining.
Southern head coach, Kelley Frassinelli said it felt like the team was rushing during their possessions.
“We needed to get draws, and create possessions,” Frassinelli said. “We have to be smart on attacks. We looked to mid- field, and that was it.”
White scored another goal after the timeout, making it 8-0.
Assumption scored nine straight goals to end the half leading, 12-1, going into halftime.
White scored her final two goals of the game to end the first half and to start the second half.
Marissa Ryan scored for Southern with a shot from the right side of the field, unassisted, making
it 13-2 with 18:42 remaining.
Freshman Erica Martino left the game with 19:56 remaining after an apparent injury. She shortly returned in the second half.
O’Rourke made two of the next three goals, making it 15-2. Assumption scored the final six goals of the game, out shooting Southern, 35-8, for the game.
Frassinelli said the team made a lot of mental mistakes in the game.
“We made technical over-throws, we were not stepping into passes, basic skills,” she said. “We need to talk about accountability for our actions in practices and games. We have to try and recognize how to figure out those mistakes.”
Assumption was 11-13 on clears for the game, and 5-8 on free-position shots. Southern was 5-23 on clears and 1-3 on free-position shots.
Southern had 29 fouls in the game. Assumption had 18 fouls. Southern had 32 turnovers in the game, 17 in the first half. Assumption had 18 turnovers.
Assumption beat Southern on draw controls, 15-5. Assumption beat Southern on ground balls, 23-14.
Sophomore goalie Lynette Martinez made 13 saves, allowing 19 goals in 60 minutes of play for Southern. Freshman goalie Michelle Monahan made two saves, allowing two goals in 60 minutes of play for Assumption.
Sophomore Caitlin White was Assumption’s leading scorer. White had five points overall, scoring five goals on five shots. Daly had three points, scoring three goals on four shots. Steph O’Rourke had four points, scoring four goals on six shots. Nancy McAdam had two points, scoring two goals on two shots.
Elaina Heiple led Southern with one point overall, scoring one goal on four shots, with four turnovers. Marissa Ryan had one goal on two shots, with four turnovers and four ground balls.
Assumption accounted for the two penalties in the game. Junior, Stefanie Pagonis, received a yellow card with 23:26 remaining in the second half. O’Rourke received a yellow card with 15:01 remaining in the second half.
Assumption defeated Southern last season, 15-14, on April 28 in Worcester, Mass. Assumption had won two straight games, moving to 4-4 overall, 2-4 in conference. Southern moves to 0-8, 0-6.