ITHACA, N.Y. (March 31, 2008) – Freshman attacker Leah Wasserman and sophomore attacker Alyssa Pigott each recorded four goals on Monday afternoon as the Stevens Institute of Technology women's lacrosse team rolled to a 16-10 victory over Empire 8 rival Ithaca College at Schoellkopf Memorial Field on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. With the decision, the Ducks improved to 7-0 and 3-0 in the conference. As for the Bombers, they dropped to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in league action.
Pigott also collected five draw controls, two assists and a ground ball. Senior attacker Liz Mather dished out four assists, while amassing a goal and two ground balls. Freshman midfielder Christine Smith registered a goal, two assists and three draws.
Freshman midfielder Michelle Buonacuore tallied two goals and an assist. She was also 1-of-1 on free-position attempts. Senior midfielder Kaitlyn Roes posted two goals, two ground balls and two draw controls. Sophomore midfielder Kara Borzillo contributed an assist. Junior defender Ali Palen added three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Ithaca was led by senior attacker Kim Medla (Brewster, N.Y.), who netted three goals and attempted five shots on goal. Sophomore midfielder Kassie Garfield (Cuttyhunk Island, Mass.) accumulated a goal and four ground balls. Senior midfielder Sarah Knauf (Rochester, N.Y.) earned three draws and two caused turnovers.
Tied up at 2-2 with 21-plus minutes left in the first half, Stevens ran off four unanswered goals to grab hold of a 6-2 lead with 16:44 remaining. Buonacuore had the last two tallies of the streak, while Pigott and Roes found the back of the net as well. The Bombers answered by scoring four of the next five goals to get within 7-6 at the 4:38 mark. Knauf and senior attacker Meagan Howell (Newark, N.Y.) each posted a goal and an assist.
The Ducks eventually went into the locker room with a 10-6 lead after scoring three straight goals over the last 4:29. Wasserman and junior defender Cassidy Callahan each had a free-position goal in that time.
Ithaca opened up the second half with scores from Medla and sophomore midfielder Sarah Cox (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) to cut its deficit to two. But, Stevens had a response as it tallied six unanswered goals to secure the victory. During the run, Pigott had two goals and an assist, while Mather collected her 29th and 30th assist of the year.
Senior goalkeeper Emily Brooks (Setauket, N.Y.) made a game-high 17 saves for the Bombers. Senior goaltender Stephanie Linder stopped nine shots for the Ducks.
Stevens held a 39-23 advantage in shots, 23-16 margin in ground balls and a 16-12 edge in draw controls. It also converted 72.0 percent (18-of-25) of its clear attempts. Ithaca was 14-of-21 (66.7 percent) in clears. Furthermore, the Ducks were 4-for-5 (80.0 percent) in the free position, while the Bombers were 1-for-4 (25.0 percent).
Stevens returns to action this Wednesday when it returns to the De Baun Athletic Complex to host Hartwick College in an Empire 8 clash. The opening draw is slated for 3 p.m. and you can catch all of the action at www.Empire8.tv.
