BANGOR, ME – The Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team opened the 2012 campaign with an 18-10 victory over Husson University (0-2) on Thursday. Sophomore midfielders Cassie Diplock (Augusta, Maine) and Anneka Adame (San Diego, Calif.) both netted five goals in the triumph.
St. Joe's took the lead 1:30 into the game when senior midi Amelia Santos (Beverly, Mass.) scored an unassisted marker, but the Eagles answered right back when Steph Eaton (Pittston, Maine) scored from Caitlyn Stauffer (Brookfield, Conn.) to tie the game with 26:36 left in the first. The Monks potted another when Santos assisted Adame just over thirty seconds later, but again, Husson would respond when Kim Gambon (Walpole, Mass.) scored her first off another dime from Stauffer, making it a combined four goals in the first five minutes.
Over the next 12 minutes, St. Joe's went on a run, starting with a goal from Diplock at 21:31, followed by a free-position score from freshman midfielder Kristin McCombs (Lewiston, Maine), a Megan Cutter (Westbrook, Maine) tally off Santos's second assist, and another free position goal, this time from Adame making the score 6-2 with 13:37 left in the first.
The Eagles battled back with a pair of quick goals from Gambon, the first assisted by Stauffer just inside the 13 minute mark, and the next unassisted 40 seconds later to cut the margin down to two.
The game was scoreless over next five minutes before Adame converted on her next free-position opportunity to provide the Monks with a three-goal lead once again with 7:14 remaining in the half. Husson had another two-goal run, starting on an unassisted goal by Abi Staab (Berlin, Vt.) at the six-minute mark and would add an extra-player goal a minute later when Eaton found Haley Huntington (West Gardiner, Maine) for a quick stick goal and that brought the Eagles to within one at 7-6 with 5:05 left in the first.
St. Joe's would finish the half on a three-goal run which started twenty seconds after Huntington's goal when Santos found Diplock, and then Santos would put one in unassisted thirty seconds later. The Monks closed out the first-half scoring when Cutter converted a free-position shot just inside two minutes, and the score at the half would be 10-6 in favor of Saint Joseph's College.
The Monks started the second stanza with another scoring run, this time netting five unanswered goals over the first ten minutes of the half. Diplock provided two during the surge, while Santos, Adame and McCombs turned in the rest, and it was 15-6 in favor of St. Joe's with 21:06 left to play.
Husson would not go away as the Eagles turned in a run of their own, beginning with an unassisted tally by Stauffer at 19:24, followed by Huntington's second, this time assisted by stauffer around the 17-minute mark. Eaton added two more, both assisted by Gambon, to cut the deficit to five with 13:20 to go in the game.
That was as close as the Eagles would get as the Monks closed out the game with three unanswered goals over the remaining 8:30 of play. Krystal Walsh (Springvale, Maine) got on the board with 8:34 remaining, and Diplock would add a quick extra-player goal less than 30 seconds later on a Haley Nordmann (Springvale, Maine) assist. Adame finished off the scoring, putting the ball in the net with 3:54 to play, and that would be it as St. Joe's left Bangor with an 18-10 victory.
The Eagles were led by Gambon and Caitlyn Stauffer who each recorded five points in the loss. Gambon netted three and assisted on two more, while Stauffer scored one with a game-high four assists. Eaton added four points with a hat trick of her own and another helper on the day. First-year goalie Kayla Guerette (Frenchville, ME) made 11 saves in her debut in the cage for Husson.
Collectively the Eagles took 29 shots, but allowed 34 by the visiting Monks. St. Joe's also won the ground ball battle, picking up 46 to 36 by Husson, but the real statistical advantage was had in draw controls as the Monks won 22 of 30 draws on the day. Husson converted on their only extra player opportunity, while holding St. Joe's to 50% (1-2) while down a player.
For the Monks, Santos scored three goals with as many assists for six points to kick off the season. Sophomore goalie Haley Nason (Saco, Maine) made five saves to earn the win, but after taking a shot off the arm with 13:20, was relieved by sophomore Elizabeth Giacchino (Melrose, Mass.) who did not allow a goal while making three big saves down the stretch.
The Eagles are back in action this weekend when they travel to Gordon College for a noon time start on Saturday before turning around for another one on Sunday at Worcester State, also beginning at 12:00 pm. The Monks will also take the field again on Saturday when the head to GNAC opponent Anna Maria College for a 1:00 pm first draw.
COURTESY OF HUSSON UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
