Senior Brooke Rudden moved into the program's single-season assists top ten list for the second straight year with her five helpers tonight. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Rudden leads Skyhawks with six points, five assists, while Lane nets four goals
EASTON, Mass. (April 2, 2015) – Stonehill College, ranked No. 4 in this week's Nike/Lacrosse Magazine Top 20 and 7th in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, fought past American International College, 16-9, in Northeast-10 Conference women's lacrosse action on Timothy J. Coughlin Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium tonight.
Seniors Brooke Rudden (Hopkinton, Massachusetts/Hopkinton) and Lizzie Lane (Sandwich, Massachusetts/Bishop Stang) led Stonehill to its 11th straight win to start the season, marking the Skyhawks first 11-0 start since 2007 when they opened with 15 straight victories. Rudden posted six points with a goal and five assists, moving into ninth place on the program's single-season assists list with 30 helpers through 11 games this season. Her 79 career assists currently ranks seventh all-time. Lane netted a game-high four goals to go with seven draw controls, four ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Senior Cassandra McGill (Westborough, Massachusetts/Westborough) contributed three goals and an assist for four points, with three ground balls, while sophomore Elizabeth Vetter (Great River, New York/East Islip) tallied three goals. Senior Emily Kessel (Kennebunk, Maine/Kennebunk) chipped in with a pair of goals, three ground balls and a caused turnover for the Skyhawks.
Senior Ashley Armstrong (Northborough, Massachusetts/Algonquin Regional) posted eight saves in the Stonehill goal, including four on free-position shots as American International was limited to 3-for-11 on free-position attempts on the night. Stonehill held a 35-23 advantage in shots for the contest and held a 16-11 edge in draw controls, including 10-4 in the second half. The Skyhawks were also successful on 14-of-15 clear attempts, compared to 12-for-20 by AIC.
Senior Lizzie Lane netted four goals for the Skyhawks tonight. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Sophomore Alexis Torosian (Hopkinton, Massachusetts/Hopkinton) kept American International in the game with 16 saves. Junior Cheyenne Carden (Branford, Connecticut/Branford) paced the Yellow Jackets attack with three goals and an assist to go with seven ground balls, three draw controls and three caused turnovers. Sophomore Riley Brennan (Wilbraham, Massachusetts/Minnechaug Regional) added two goals and collected three draws and a ground ball, while classmate Jessica Lawler (Mexico, New York/Mexico Academy) chipped in a pair of markers.
Stonehill struck first with a pair of goals less than a minute apart by Vetter and Kessel less than four minutes into the game. American International responded with a four goal run over a three-minute span to take the lead after a marker from senior Jacqueline Millard (Nassau, New York/Columbia) eight and a half minutes into the contest. Carden netted the first three goals of the Yellow Jackets run, all of which came in the span of 2:01.
Stonehill followed with a five goal run to regain the lead (7-4) with Kessel's second goal of the stanza with 4:56 remaining in the half. Rudden dished out three assists during the Skyhawks rally, while Lane potted back to back goals within a 40-second span to put the hosts back on top. Lawler capped the first half scoring, assisted by Carden, with 1:44 remaining in the half to pull AIC back within two goals at the break.
Stonehill took control in the second half, opening the frame with five straight goals in the opening seven and a half minutes to open a 12-5 lead after two straight goals from McGill. She also dished out an assist during that stretch, while Vetter added a pair of goals for the Skyhawks.
American International wouldn't go down quietly, netting the next three goals to pull within four (12-8) after a free-position goal from Brennan with 14:27 still to play. Stonehill answered yet again, scoring four consecutive goals to open an eight goal lead (16-8) to seal the win after Lane's fourth of the game with 2:37 remaining. She had a pair of goals during that Skyhawks run, while McGill and Rudden also scored before Brennan capped the scoring for AIC with 50-seconds left.
Stonehill (11-0, 8-0 NE-10) rounds out its string of three home games this week on Saturday when it hosts 6th-ranked University of New Haven for a huge Northeast-10 matchup at W.B. Mason Stadium at noon. American International (3-9, 0-8 NE-10) hosts top-ranked Adelphi University next Wednesday, April 8, at 4 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.
