STANDISH, Maine – Plymouth State University (1-0) held off Saint Joseph's College (1-1), 14-8, in a non-conference women's lacrosse contest on a rainy Wednesday night at the SJC Athletics Complex.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Panthers came out firing with five goals in the first six minutes, including three from junior attack Maddie Hunt (Littleton, Mass.). The Monks finally responded at the 7:14 mark when freshman Taylor Dumond (Minisink, N.Y.) scored off a Bridget Collins (Milford, Conn.) pass.
Saint Joseph's was unable to build off the tally however, as Plymouth State found the back of the net six times during the subsequent 17 minutes of game play to stake an 11-1 lead and kick off running time with 5:52 left in the second stanza. Sophomore Celia Melanson (Waterford, Conn.) capped the first-half scoring – and brought an end to running time – when she potted an unassisted strike with 2:07 before the break.
The Monks flipped the script in the third quarter, a 15-minute frame during which the hosts outscored the visitors by a 4-0 margin. Collins netted a pair during the penultimate period as the Royal Blue headed into the fourth trailing 11-6.
Dumond kicked off the final segment with a man-up goal off a pass from former high school teammate Sophia Burton (Westtown, N.Y.) to make it a four-goal game with 14:22 left, but the Panthers held off the surging Monks by netting three of the final four goals, all on free-position attempts, to account for the 14-8 final.
TEAM STATS:
Plymouth State held the lead in shots (31-25), shots on goal (24-14), draw controls (19-7), and caused turnovers (10-9) while both teams picked up 25 ground balls on the evening. The Panthers scored on all seven of their free-position shots in the victory while the Monks hit the post or crossbar on four occasions in the setback.
THE KEEPERS:
SJC sophomore Alexis Eldridge (Effingham, N.H.) made seven saves in the first half and junior Morgan Wright (Chelmsford, Mass.) posted three stops in the second stanza. PSU junior Margie Black (Longmeadow, Mass.) made six saves and picked up four ground balls in her team's season-opener.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Melanson tallied two goals, three assists, and five ground balls
- Collins added two goals and an assist
- Dumond scored twice on as many shots
- Junior Mackenzie Siebert (Naples, Maine) netted a goal and an assist
- Burton chipped in with a goal and an assist along with two ground balls
- Senior defender Madison Scott (Cumberland, Maine) posted five ground balls and five caused turnovers
- Senior defender Heather Rohr (Merrimack, N.H.) notched two ground balls, three draw controls, and a pair of caused turnovers
- Senior Carson Battaglia (Gorham, Maine) contributed four ground balls, three draw controls, and two caused turnovers
LEADERS – PLYMOUTH STATE:
- Junior Julia Donovan (Antrim, N.H.) scored five goals on six shots with three ground balls
- Hunt netted five markers with an assist, three ground balls, two draw controls, and a pair of caused turnovers
- Senior Tarryn O'Brien (Weymouth, Mass.) aded two goals and four assists
- Junior Jenna Stowell (Londonderry, N.H.) scored a goal with seven ground balls and seven draw controls
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the loss Saint Joseph's falls to 0-2 in the history of the series with Plymouth State University. The Panthers tipped the Monks, 11-9, on their home turf last spring.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host Husson University on Saturday in a non-conference contest starting at 11:00 AM.
