Junior Mikayla Couch scored three goals to lead the Skyhawks tonight. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
Thayer and Stufano net three goals each to lead Tars
WINTER PARK, Fla. (March 11, 2014) – Rollins College, ranked 8th in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, closed the game out with a 5-1 run over the final 11 minutes to claim a 14-9 victory over 7th-ranked Stonehill College in non-conference women's lacrosse action at Barker Family Stadium tonight.
Seniors Kelly Thayer (Orlando, Fla./Edgewater) and Mary Stufano (Sanibel, Fla./Fort Myers) both netted three goals to lead Rollins to the win. Thayer also posted three draw controls, two ground balls and a caused turnover. Sophomore Tyler Thomas (Winter Park, Fla./Lake Highland Prep) notched three points with two goals and an assist with two ground balls and a draw, while senior Caroline Lamere (Longwood, Fla./Lake Brantley) dished out four assists.
Freshman Amy Martin (Roswell, Ga./Centennial) added two goals and an assist, while sophomore Angelica Perdomo (Longwood, Fla./Lake Brantley) netted a pair. Junior Alley Rhinehart (Winter Springs, Fla./Winter Springs) chipped in with a goal and assist and caused four turnovers.
Junior Mikayla Couch (Towaco, N.J./DePaul Catholic), who missed all but two games as a sophomore due to injury, led Stonehill with three goals in her return, adding two caused turnovers. Classmates Emily Kessel (Kennebunk, Maine/Kennebunk) and Brooke Rudden (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton), along with sophomore Rebecca Matheson (Reading, Mass./Reading Memorial) all added a goal and assist, while Kessel chipped in two ground balls and a caused turnover off the bench. Senior Kelsey Shannahan (Mendham, N.J./Morris Catholic), junior Cassandra McGill (Westborough, Mass./Westborough) and freshman Elizabeth Vetter (Great River, N.Y./East Islip) each chipped in with goals, with Vetter also totaling three ground balls and four draws in her collegiate debut.
Junior Emily Kessel added a goal and assist with two ground balls and a caused turnover off the bench. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
Senior Elyse De Lisle (Windermere, Fla./Olympia) made seven saves in goal for Rollins, while junior Ashley Armstrong (Northborough, Mass./Algonquin Regional) posted nine stops in the Stonehill net. Rollins held a 29-23 edge in shots for the contest, including 15-7 in the second half, converting 4-of-8 free-position shots, compared to 0-for-3 for Stonehill. The Skyhawks won the possession battle, with a 17-8 advantage in draw controls, including 10-3 in the second half, but couldn't take advantage, committing 11 second half turnovers and 17 overall.
Stonehill held a 5-3 lead after McGill capped a three goal run with her first marker of the season, assisted by Matheson, with 9:58 remaining in the first half. Rollins scored the next four goals, including the final three of the opening stanza, to take a 7-5 lead after a Martin goal two minutes into the second half, assisted by Lamere. Martin scored two of the Tars goals during that stretch, while Lamere dished two assists.
The teams traded goals with Stonehill drawing back within a goal (9-8) with Shannahan's first goal of the year, assisted by Kessel, with 12:34 remaining. Rollins sealed the win with a four goal run over the next four minutes to open a five goal lead (13-8) after a Stufano goal with 8:21 remaining. Thayer scored the first two goals of the game-clinching run 30-seconds apart. Rudden halted the run with a goal for Stonehill with 7:44 to play, but the Skyhawks would get no closer as Stufano capped the scoring, assisted by Thomas, with 6:41 remaining.
Stufano opened the scoring in the contest for Rollins with a free-position goal after five minutes. Kessel and Couch answered with their first goals to put Stonehill in front after nine minutes of play. Lamere set up Thomas and Perdomo for goals that pushed the Tars back on top, but Couch sparked the Skyhawks three goal run for a 5-3 lead with 9:58 left in the frame. Matheson had a goal and assist during that stretch.
Stonehill (0-1, 0-0 NE-10) is right back in action tomorrow night for a non-conference clash with Tiffin University of Ohio at Paul Bellingham Field in Orlando, Fla., at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks home opener is scheduled for Wednesday, March 19, against Assumption College for their Northeast-10 Conference opener at 7 p.m. Rollins (4-1) hosts Bentley University on Friday at 4 p.m.
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