Stonehill remains perfect in NE-10 play at 2-0 overall

Junior Kelsey Reilly scored a game-high five goals to lead Stonehill in the win.

COLCHESTER, Vt. (March 22, 2012) – Stonehill College, ranked seventh overall in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, remained perfect in Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) play on Thursday afternoon with an 11-9 win over Saint Michael's College, on the road.

Junior Kelsey Reilly (Hingham, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) guided the Skyhawks attack with a game-high five markers. Classmate Kayla Green (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) added two goals and one assist while teammates Mikayla Couch (Towaco, N.J./DePaul Catholic) and Mary Lee Mahony (Yardley, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie) chipped in with two goals each. Junior Heather Sullivan (Andover, Mass./Andover) dished out one helper.

For the Purple Knights, senior Eliza Scoba (Franklin, Mass./Franklin), freshman Courtney Piper (Wolfeboro, N.H./Brewster Academy) and sophomore Crystal King (South Burlington, Vt./South Burlington) tallied two goals apiece. Junior Caitlin Mahoney (Cohasset, Mass./Cohasset), sophomore Claire Martin (Mattapoisett, Mass./Bishop Stang) and freshman  Melissa Jaskiewicz (Kensington, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) all factored into the offense with one goal. Scoba also helped facilitate the offense with two assists while Piper added one helper.

Stonehill scored the first two goals of the contest as Green fed Couch on a goal at the 26:28 mark and Sullivan set up Reilly at 25:56 to take an early 2-0 lead.

Saint Michael's responded with three-straight goals claiming its only lead of the contest. King netted a free position attempt at 21:23, Scoba followed at the 18:37 mark to even the score, 2-2, on a pass from sophomore Alexa Coleman (Boxford, Mass./Masconomet Regional) and Jaskiewicz claimed a 3-2 advantage at 15:18 on an unassisted marker.

The Skyhawks went on to outscore the Purple Knights, 5-1, to close out the half and take a 7-4 lead into halftime. Green jump started the run at 12:26, followed by three-straight free position goals from Reilly (9:01, 5:04) and Green (5:40) to push the score to 6-3.

King brought Saint Michael's back within two goals, 6-4, with a little over a minute remaining (1:07) finishing on a feed from sophomore Caroline Casper (Norfolk, Mass./Thayer Academy).

Reilly pushed the gap to 7-4 with 22 seconds remaining with a marker past Purple Knights goalkeeper Sandy Palumbo (Guilford, Conn./Guilford).

Although Stonehill got outscored 5-4 in the second half, the Skyhawks pushed their lead out to as many as five goals on Reilly's fifth tally of the game at the 17:49 mark of the second half. The Purple Knights followed with three-straight goals over the course of the next three minutes and 17 seconds as Scoba, Piper and Martin all connected with the back of the net.

Mahony stopped Saint Michael's scoring run with a successful free position attempt at the 10:51 mark while the Skyhawks defense held the opposition scoreless until Piper tallied the last goal of the game with 4:23 remaining.

Stonehill outshot Saint Michael's, 28-19, and won the draw controls battle, 14-8. The Skyhawks were 13-for-19 on clear attempts and had fewer turnovers than Saint Michael's, 24-25.

Freshman goalkeeper Ashley Armstrong (Northborough, Mass./Algonquin Regional) turned away six shots on net. Palumbo finished with 10 saves.

Stonehill (4-1, 2-0 NE-10) hosts Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday, March 24 for a NE-10 matchup scheduled at 1 p.m. Saint Michael's (2-2, 0-1 NE-10) hosts Le Moyne on Saturday for a conference game at 1 p.m.