Senior Brooke Rudden led the Skyhawks with three goals and three assists tonight. (PHOTO BY Emily Reynolds) |
Rudden posts three goals and three assists to lead Skyhawks
MANCHESTER, N.H. (March 17, 2015) – Stonehill College, ranked No. 5 in this week's Nike/Lacrosse Magazine Top 20 and 9th in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, maintained its perfect start to the season with a 15-9 triumph over Southern New Hampshire University in Northeast-10 Conference women's lacrosse action at Larkin Field tonight.
Senior Brooke Rudden (Hopkinton, Massachusetts/Hopkinton) led Stonehill, which is off to a 5-0 start for the first time since 2011, with three goals and three assists for a six point night. Senior Emily Kessel (Kennebunk, Maine/Kennebunk) also netted three goals, while classmate Cassandra McGill (Westborough, Massachusetts/Westborough) dished out four assists. Junior Caitlin Sweeney (Hollis, New Hampshire/Hollis-Brookline) and freshman Taylor Shannahan (Mendham, New Jersey/Morris Catholic) each contributed two goals, while senior Lizzie Lane (Sandwich, Massachusetts/Bishop Stang) chipped in with a goal and assist for the Skyhawks.
Senior Ashley Armstrong (Northborough, Massachusetts/Algonquin Regional) preserved the win with eight saves in the Stonehill goal as the Skyhawks posted a 28-20 advantage in shots for the contest. Draw controls finished even at 13 apiece. Sophomore Nicole Kennedy (Windham, Maine/Windham) started and made six saves over the first 52:28, before giving way to freshman Jena Corkhum (Nashua, New Hampshire/Nashua North) for one save over the final 7:32.
Senior Lindsay Bucknam (Bow, New Hampshire/Bow) led Southern New Hampshire with four points on two goals and two assists, while sophomore Ellen Decker (Foxborough, Massachusetts/Foxborough) netted three goals. Senior Emily King (Florence, Massachusetts/Northampton) chipped in with two goals and an assist for the Penmen.
Senior Cassandra McGill dished out four assists tonight. (PHOTO BY SportsPix) |
Stonehill scored the first seven goals of the game on its way to an 11-3 halftime lead and then made it stand in the second half to earn the win. Rudden had three goals and an assist during the opening run for the Skyhawks, while Kessel netted a pair, including the opening goal 2:02 into the game. Rudden scored three of the next four Stonehill goals, wrapped around Kessel's second, over a five minute span that saw the lead grow to 5-0 just over eight minutes into the contest.
King and Decker scored back to back goals in a two minute span to put Southern New Hampshire on the board, but Stonehill followed with the next three to open a 10-2 advantage after Sweeney's first goal of the night with 7:16 left in the half. Sweeney's second of the game capped the first half scoring after Decker's second.
McGill set up goals from Shannahan and senior Jillian Yung (Bridgewater, Massachusetts/Bridgewater-Raynham) less than two minutes apart that extended Stonehill's lead to ten goals (14-4) with 11:47 remaining and sealed the win. SNHU scored five of the last six goals from there, but the damage was done. Bucknam led the Penmen with a goal and two assists over the final 10:25.
Stonehill (5-0, 3-0 NE-10) continues its string of three road games this week on Thursday night with it visits Merrimack College for an NE-10 matchup on Thursday night at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks return home next Wednesday, March 25, for its first ever meeting with Northeast-10 newcomer Pace University at 7 p.m. Southern New Hampshire (1-2, 0-2 NE-10) visits Le Moyne College on Sunday at 11 a.m.
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