Sophomore Elizabeth Vetter scored a career-high six goals to lead the Skyhawks past Pace. (PHOTO BY Emily Reynolds) |
Vetter nets career-high six goals to lead Skyhawks to eighth-straight win
EASTON, Mass. (March 25, 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, scored ten goals in the second half to break the game open and claim a 17-7 triumph over Pace University in Northeast-10 Conference women's lacrosse action on Timothy J. Coughlin Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium tonight.
Sophomore Elizabeth Vetter (Great River, New York/East Islip) scored a career-high six goals to lead Stonehill to an 8-0 start for the first time since opening 10-0 in 2011. The win also pulls head coach Katie Conover '03 within one victory of her 100th win in seven-plus seasons at the helm of her alma mater, having now posted a 99-36 (.728) with the Skyhawks.
Vetter also chipped in with three draw controls and three ground balls, while senior Lizzie Lane (Sandwich, Massachusetts/Bishop Stang) added three goals, four draws, two ground balls and two caused turnovers. Senior Cassandra McGill (Westborough, Massachusetts/Westborough) and junior Caitlin Sweeney (Hollis, New Hampshire/Hollis-Brookline) each contributed three points with two goals and an assist apiece, while McGill also tallied three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Senior Brooke Rudden (Hopkinton, Massachusetts/Hopkinton) dished out three assists, while junior Rebecca Matheson (Reading, Massachusetts/Reading Memorial) chipped in with a pair of markers and three draws.
Senior Ashley Armstrong (Northborough, Massachusetts/Algonquin Regional) preserved the win with eight saves in the Stonehill goal. The Skyhawks finished with a 33-21 advantage in shots and a 17-9 edge in draw controls. Armstrong helped limit Pace to 3-for-11 on free-position shot attempts, making four saves on free-position attempts. Stonehill converted 2-of-4 free-position tries and was successful on 12-of-19 clear attempts, compared to 12-for-15 for Pace. Freshman Alissa Silvestri (Congers, New York/Clarkstown North) made ten stops in the Setters goal.
Senior Lizzie Lane scored three goals and added four draws, two ground balls and two caused turnovers. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Freshman Rachael Casasanta (Wallingford, Connecticut/Sacred Heart Academy) led Pace with three goals and an assist for four points, while classmate Emily Ankabrandt (Scotia, New York/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) added a pair of goals, four ground balls and three caused turnovers. Freshmen Angela Kelly (Garnerville, New York/North Rockland) and Makayla McDermott (Greenlawn, New York/Elwood-John Glenn) each chipped in with a goal and assist, with Kelly adding two ground balls and a caused turnover.
Pace got on the scoreboard first with the opening goal by Kelly, assisted by Casasanta, just 40-seconds into the contest. Stonehill responded with five straight goals over the next 11 minutes to take the lead for good. Vetter scored the first two Skyhawk goals less than 90-seconds apart five minutes after Kelly's opener, while McGill added a pair as well, including the fifth Skyhawks marker with 18:23 left in the first half.
Pace responded by scoring three of the final five goals of the first half as the first-year program trailed just 7-4 at halftime. Casasanta netted a pair of goals just 11-seconds apart with just over 14 minutes left in the half to pull the Setters back within two goals (5-3). Sweeney and Matheson scored back to back goals for Stonehill to restore its four goal cushion, but Casasanta capped the first half scoring with a free-position goal with 11-seconds left in the frame.
Stonehill took control of the game with the first five goals over the first ten minutes of the second half to open an eight goal lead (12-4) after senior Jillian Yung's (Bridgewater, Massachusetts/Bridgewater-Raynham) eighth goal of the year with 20:18 remaining. Vetter scored two more goals during that opening run, while Rudden dished out two assists for the Skyhawks.
Ankabrandt and McDermott sandwiched Vetter's fifth goal of the night with markers of their own to draw Pace within seven goals (13-6), but Stonehill netted four of the last five goals over the final 15-minutes to seal the victory. Lane scored back to back goals just 20-seconds apart to push the Skyhawks lead to nine (15-6) with 14:07 to play. After Ankabrandt's second goal of the night with 11:12 left, Stonehill capped the scoring with tallies by Matheson and Vetter in the final 3:53.
Stonehill (8-0, 6-0 NE-10) is back in action on Saturday when it visits Assumption College for a Northeast-10 matchup at 1p.m. The Skyhawks return home next Tuesday to open a three-game week at W.B. Mason Stadium against Dowling College for their Purple & White Game at 7 p.m. Pace (3-4, 1-3 NE-10) hosts Saint Anselm College on Saturday at 3 p.m.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter and Facebook. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks mobile app on iTunes and the Android Market.
