#24 Women's Lacrosse Holds On for Bounce Back Win Over SNHU, 16-14


Shannahan piled up four points, nine ground balls, seven draws and four caused turnovers. (PHOTO BY Mike Tureski/SportsPix)

Shannahan fills stat sheet with four points, nine ground balls, seven draws & four caused turnovers

EASTON, Mass. (March 15, 2018) – Stonehill College, ranked No. 24 in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, held off a late Southern New Hampshire University rally to record a 16-14 victory in Northeast-10 Conference women's lacrosse action on Timothy J. Coughlin '80 Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium tonight.

Senior midfielder Taylor Shannahan (Mendham, New Jersey/Morris Catholic) led Stonehill by piling up four points with three goals and an assist, while collecting nine ground balls, seven draw controls and four caused turnovers in the win. Classmate Brianna Doherty (Walpole, Massachusetts/Walpole) and sophomore MacKenzie Pleshaw (Franklin, Massachusetts/Franklin) each totaled a team-best five points. Pleshaw scored four goals and added an assist, while Doherty tallied three goals and two assists.

Senior Kelly Healey (Westwood, Massachusetts/Westwood) contributed three goals, three ground balls and three draws, while junior Linna Jalinskas (Farmington, Connecticut/Farmington) chipped in with a pair of goals and two ground balls. Sophomore Bailey Grant (Chelmsford, Massachusetts/Chelmsford) finished with nine saves in the Skyhawks goal, while senior Lauren Smith (Westhampton Beach, New York/Westhampton Beach) caused four turnovers on defense.


Pleshaw scored four goals and added an assist for the Skyhawks. (PHOTO BY Mike Tureski/SportsPix)

Junior Kristin Wilder (Framingham, Massachusetts/Framingham) led Southern New Hampshire with a game-high five goals, while senior Alexa Bedell (Londonderry, New Hampshire/Londonderry) totaled six points with two goals and four assists, with seven draw controls and three ground balls. Junior Alexis Felt (Manchester, New Hampshire/Brewster Academy) contributed three goals and an assists, while senior Kennedy Daziel (East Hampstead, New Hampshire/Pinkerton Academy) recorded two goals and an assist, with six draws and three ground balls.

Junior Leah Olansky (Bennington, Vermont/Mount Anthony Union) made nine of her 15 saves in the second half to keep SNHU in the game for the late comeback bid.

Wilder opened the second half scoring with her second goal of the night to knot the score at seven apiece just ten seconds in after the opening draw. Stonehill responded with a 7-2 run to open a 14-9 lead after Jalinskas capped a run of four-straight Skyhawk goals with her second tally of the run with 12:48 remaining. Shannahan started the run by scoring her second goal of the game four minutes into the second half and then assisting on Jalinskas' first of the day a minute and a half later.

Bedell scored her second of the half to pull SNHU within 10-9 with 21:42 remaining and then Stonehill fired in three straight free-position goals leading up to Jalinskas' second. Healey, Pleshaw and junior Logan Snelling (Duxbury, Massachusetts/Duxbury) scored from the arc for the Skyhawks during the run.

SNHU scored five of the last seven goals to get back in the game and make a threat, but time would eventually run out. Wilder scored three during the closing stretch, while Daziel netted a pair. Stonehill markers from Doherty, assisted by Pleshaw, with 10:42 remaining and Shannahan with 1:37 left helped hold off the Penmen who scored twice in the final minute to draw within two.

Stonehill (3-1, 2-1 NE10) is right back in action on Saturday, when it hosts 4th-ranked Le Moyne College for an NE10 matchup at W.B. Mason Stadium at 5:30 p.m. Southern N.H. (1-4, 0-1 NE10) visits No. 2 Adelphi University on Saturday at noon.

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