Shannahan scored a pair of goals and collected five ground balls and three caused turnovers for the Skyhawks. (PHOTO BY Mike Tureski/SportsPix) |
Bartlett nets six goals in seven-point day to lead Warriors
EASTON, Mass. (March 6, 2018) – Merrimack College scored the first five goals of the second half on its way to an 11-3 advantage for the final 30-minutes overall to claim an 18-10 triumph over Stonehill College, ranked No. 19 in this week's Nike/US Lacrosse Magazine Division II poll and No. 20 in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, in Northeast-10 Conference women's lacrosse action on Timothy J. Coughlin '80 Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium this afternoon.
Freshman Haley Bartlett (Gilford, New Hampshire/New Hampton) led Merrimack with six goals and an assist, while adding two caused turnovers, while junior Amber Feminella (Cortlandt Manor, New York/Hendrick Hudson) totaled six points with three goals and three assists. Sophomore Ally DaCosta (New Bedford, Massachusetts/Saint Mary Academy-Bay View) also recorded six points with a goal and five assists, while collecting two draw controls and two ground balls, and classmate Olivia Colletti (Massapequa, New York/Massapequa) totaled three goals and an assist with six draw controls.
Sophomore Tammy Nguyen (Lowell, Massachusetts/Lowell) made seven of her 12 saves in the second half for Merrimack, limiting Stonehill to just three second half goals. The Warriors controlled possession with a 17-13 edge in draw controls, while posting 14 caused turnovers on the Skyhawks 17 giveaways for the contest.
Sophomore MacKenzie Pleshaw (Franklin, Massachusetts/Franklin) scored five of Stonehill's ten goals on the afternoon, adding three ground balls and a caused turnover. Senior Taylor Shannahan (Mendham, New Jersey/Morris Catholic) netted a season-high two goals, converting a pair of free-position shots, to go with five ground balls and three caused turnovers. Sophomore Kaitlin Healey (Westwood, Massachusetts/Westwood) chipped in with a goal and two caused turnovers, while sister Kelly Healey (Westwood, Massachusetts/Westwood), a senior, totaled a goal , four draw controls and three ground balls.
Pleshaw scored five goals to lead the Skyhawks on offense. (PHOTO BY Mike Tureski/SportsPix) |
Sophomore Bailey Grant (Chelmsford, Massachusetts/Chelmsford) finished with eight saves in the Stonehill goal. The Skyhawks held a 34-31 edge in shots for the contest, converting 5-of-10 free-position shot attempts.
Merrimack battled its way back from an early three-goal deficit, scoring five-straight goals to grab a 6-4 lead after junior Bridget Schofield's (Littleton, Massachusetts/Littleton) eighth goal of the season with 8:30 remaining in the first half. Stonehill scored three of the last four goals in the frame to force a 7-7 halftime deadlock after Shannahan's second of the game with 1:48 remaining.
Merrimack surged out of the intermission by scoring the first five goals of the half in the opening nine minutes to start an 8-1 run that produced a 15-8 lead after Feminella's second goal of the run with 14:32 to play. Feminella and Bartlett each had two goals and an assist during the 8-1 run, while DaCosta dished two assists and Colletti had a goal and assist.
Pleshaw stopped the run with her fifth goal of the day with 8:53 to play, but Bartlett answered just 39-seconds later with her 14th goal of the year, assisted by Feminella, and then Colletti stretched the Warriors lead to eight (17-9) with her ninth of the season a minute after that. Kelly Healey and Feminella traded goals in the closing four minutes to produce the final score line.
Stonehill (2-1, 1-1 NE10) is off until next Tuesday, March 13, when it hosts Southern New Hampshire University for an NE10 clash at 7 p.m. Merrimack (3-1, 1-0 NE10) hosts No. 2-ranked Adelphi University on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
