Senior Brooke Rudden tallied eight points, including a career-high six assists - two shy of the program record. (PHOTO BY Emily Reynolds) |
Rudden and Matheson lead Skyhawks to seventh straight win
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (March 23, 2015) – Stonehill College, ranked No. 4 in this week's Nike/Lacrosse Magazine Top 20 and 8th in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, kept its perfect start intact with a 20-8 victory over Southern Connecticut State University in Northeast-10 Conference women's lacrosse action at Jess Down Field this afternoon.
Senior Brooke Rudden (Hopkinton, Massachusetts/Hopkinton) totaled eight points, while junior Rebecca Matheson (Reading, Massachusetts/Reading Memorial) netted four goals to lead Stonehill to victory. Rudden dished out a career-high six assists, just two shy of the program's single-game record, and added two goals, while Matheson collected a ground ball to go with her career-high goal tally.
Senior Cassandra McGill (Westborough, Massachusetts/Westborough) added three goals and two assists for five points for Stonehill, with a ground ball and draw control, while classmate Lizzie Lane (Sandwich, Massachusetts/Bishop Stang) contributed three goals and an assist with three ground balls, three draws and a caused turnover. Junior Caitlin Sweeney (Hollis, New Hampshire/Hollis-Brookline) also netted three goals for the Skyhawks, while sophomore Elizabeth Vetter (Great River, New York/East Islip) scored a pair of goals to go with three ground balls and three draw controls. Freshman Taylor Shannahan (Mendham, New Jersey/Morris Catholic) chipped in with a goal and assist.
Senior Ashley Armstrong (Northborough, Massachusetts/Algonquin Regional) posted nine saves in the Stonehill goal, holding Southern Connecticut to 1-for-4 on free-position shot attempts with two saves on those attempts. The Skyhawks posted a 32-18 advantage for shots in the contest, holding a 17-13 edge in draw controls. Stonehill was successful on all 14 clear attempts in the game, while Southern Connecticut was 10-for-12. Senior Nora Anderson (Stratford, Connecticut/Bunnell) posted ten stops in the Owls goal, while collecting four ground balls.
Freshman Emma Farrel (Cheshire, Connecticut/Cheshire) led Southern Connecticut's attack with three goals and four draw controls, while classmate Carolynn Keal (Southington, Connecticut/Southington) posted two goals and an assist with four draws and a ground ball. Freshman Nicole Healey (Milford, Connecticut/St. Joseph) chipped in with a goal and assist for the Owls.
Sophomore Rebecca Matheson netted a career-best four goals for the Skyhawks. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Stonehill scored the first six goals of the contest and made that margin stand the rest of the way before a late five goal run provided the final winning margin. The Skyhawks struck for five goals over the opening five and a half minutes, with Vetter netting a pair and Lane adding a goal and assist, including the fifth goal during that opening run. Sweeney opened the scoring with her first goal of the contest 1:50 into the game, before Rudden doubled the Skyhawks lead 27-seconds later. Vetter scored twice within a 31-second span to push the lead to 4-0 and then Lane capped the run with her first goal of the contest.
McGill extended Stonehill's lead to six goals, assisted by Rudden, with her first goal of the day with 16:54 remaining in the first half before Southern Connecticut State got on the scoreboard with an unassisted marker by Farrel with 14:27 to play. Rudden set up Matheson's first goal of the afternoon with 12:47 to play in the half and then Keal scored back to back goals for the Owls with 11:03 and 3:50 left in the half to cut the deficit to four goals.
Matheson restored Stonehill's six goal lead (9-3) at the break with two goals in the final 1:28, capping the scoring in the half with just two seconds left. Farrel opened the second half scoring to pull Southern within five after 1:42, but the Skyhawks reeled off three goals in a three and a half minute span to extend the lead to eight (12-4) after Shannahan's goal with 21:16 to play. Rudden assisted on two of the Skyhawks three goals, while Lane and Matheson contributed goals.
Stonehill traded goals with the lead at seven (15-8) after Farrel's third goal of the game with 5:12 on the clock. The Skyhawks added an exclamation point with five goals, including two from Sweeney, over the final 4:51 to provide the final margin. McGill and Rudden each chipped in with a goal and assist during the closing stretch.
Stonehill (7-0, 5-0 NE-10) returns to action on Wednesday night when it hosts Pace University at W.B. Mason Stadium for its first ever meeting with the first year program and NE-10 newcomer at 7 p.m. Southern Connecticut State (1-4, 0-3 NE-10) visits Le Moyne College on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
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