Liza Gross |
#10 Stonehill Starts Fast at Rollins, 20-9
Skyhawks ride 12-goal first half to win season opener
WINTER PARK, Fla. (March 10, 2010) – Stonehill College, ranked tenth in this week’s Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, raced out to a 12-4 halftime lead and never looked back in posting a season-opening 20-9 victory over Rollins College at Showalter Field tonight.
Senior midfielder Liza Gross (Loudonville, N.Y./Shaker) led a balanced Stonehill scoring effort with four goals and an assist for five points. Sophomore Sarah Galligan (West Newbury, Mass./Pentucket Regional) netted four goals, as did freshman Heather Sullivan (Andover, Mass./Andover) in her collegiate debut for the Skyhawks. Junior Hannah Anderson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) contributed three goals and an assist, while sophomore Sam Lynott (Holbrook, N.Y./East Sachem) chipped in two goals and two assists.
Freshman Rebecca Moore (Marlborough, Mass./St. Mark’s School) made ten saves in goal for Stonehill in her collegiate debut. Sophomore Alyssa Emens (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) stopped seven shots for Rollins.
Heather Sullivan |
Sophomore Mallory Surpless (Chicago, lll./New Trier) led Rollins with three goals. Freshman Erica Pagliarulo (Winchester, Mass./New Country Day School) added a goal and two assists. Senior Marissa Giannerini (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep) and junior Liz Connelly (Longwood, Fla./Lake Brantley) both chipped in with a goal and assist.
Pagliarulo set up Rollins’ first two goals for a 2-1 lead less than three minutes into the contest. Stonehill took control with nine-straight goals to open a 10-2 lead with 10:36 left in the half after two-straight free position goals from Lynott. Anderson and Sullivan also scored a pair of goals in that run, with Lynott and Anderson both contributing assists.
Stonehill took a 12-4 lead into halftime after two goals from Gross in the final 1:12 of the half. Surpless and Connelly scored the first two goals for Rollins in the second half to pull the Tars within six (12-6) with 27:03 to play. However the Skyhawks netted the next five goals, two from Sullivan, to open a 17-6 lead with 10:34 remaining to seal the win.
Stonehill finished with a 34-26 advantage in shots for the contest, scoring six goals on nine free-position opportunities. The Skyhawks dominated the draw control, 21-9, led by five from Lynott.
Stonehill (1-0, 0-0 NE-10) is back in action on Friday, when it faces Millersville University here at Rollins College at 10 a.m. The Skyhawks first home game of the season is Saturday, March 20, when they open their Northeast-10 Conference schedule against defending National Champions Adelphi University at W.B. Mason Stadium at noon. Rollins (3-2) hosts the University of New Haven on Monday at 7 p.m.
