Grant made seven of her 11 saves in the first half for the Skyhawks (PHOTO BY Nancy Wright Pix) |
Skyhawks log first road win behind 11 saves from Grant
HOOKSETT, N.H. (April 2, 2019) – Stonehill College, among teams receiving votes in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, picked up its first road win of the season with a 17-12 triumph over Southern New Hampshire University in Northeast-10 Conference women's lacrosse action at Penmen Stadium tonight.
Junior Bailey Grant made seven of her 11 saves in the first half, limiting Southern New Hampshire to five goals in the opening half hour, and eight different players scored goals to lead Stonehill to the win. Junior Shannon Hughes netted four goals, while classmate Kaity Healey added three goals and an assist for the Skyhawks, while collecting four draw controls and two ground balls. Freshman Emma Sullivan rounded out Stonehill's four-point scorers with two goals and two assists.
Junior Jennifer Wheaton and freshman Kendall Fressle each contributed two goals and an assist for Stonehill, while Wheaton collected two draw controls, two ground balls and a caused turnover, and Fressle had two ground balls. Sophomore Olivia Pino netted two goals for the Skyhawks, while junior Kenzie Pleshaw chipped in with a goal and assist.
Senior Kristin Wilder scored a team-high four goals for Southern N.H., with three ground balls, while classmate Alexis Felt tallied four points with three goals and an assist, converting 2-of-6 free-position shots. Junior Mary Harrington added two goals and an assist, with four draw controls, while freshman Kelsey Long chipped in with a goal, assist and five draws.
Hughes scored four goals to lead a balanced Skyhawks attack (PHOTO BY Nancy Wright Pix) |
Freshman Hayle Ashford finished with eight saves in the SNHU goal.
Stonehill never trailed and had seven different goal scorers in the first half alone. After trading goals over the first 20-minutes, with each having two goals swings, the Skyhawks broke a 4-4 deadlock with a three-goal run in the final ten minutes of the half. Wheaton put Stonehill in front for good with her first goal of the night on a free-position attempt with 8:56 remaining in the half. Sullivan followed with her first of the game, off a Healey feed, less than three minutes later, and then she set up Pleshaw's goal with 1:23 to play.
Wilder got a goal back for SNHU with just 18-seconds remaining in the opening frame, but Stonehill netted the first two markers of the second, from Healey and Pino, to open a four-goal lead (9-5) less than six minutes in. Long and freshman Catherine Derhak scored goals two minutes apart to pull the Penmen back within two (9-7) with 21:46 to play.
Stonehill would pull away from there, scoring five of the next six goals to open a six-goal cushion (14-8) after Sullivan's second of the game with 9:21 remaining. She had a goal and assist during that run, while Hughes netted a pair and Wheaton tallied a goal and assist. Wheaton had a hand in the Skyhawks first two goals of the run, setting up Hughes' second of the game with 18:47 remaining and then potting her second less than two minutes later.
Felt netted a free-position goal for SNHU with 16:22 remaining, but Pino followed five minutes later with her second goal of the half and then Sullivan set up Hughes before capping the deciding run with her 24th goal of the year. Healey and Fressle touched off a four-goal spree in the final two minutes that gave the Skyhawks a seven goal lead (17-10), before Wilder capped the scoring with two goals in the last 28-seconds.
Stonehill (6-4, 3-3 NE10) is back in action on Saturday, when it returns to W.B. Mason Stadium to host Franklin Pierce University at noon. Southern N.H. (4-6, 1-5 NE10) hosts 17th-ranked Assumption College on Friday at 4 p.m.
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