HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 20, 2008) – Sophomore attacker Alyssa Pigott and freshman midfielder Christine Smith recorded five goals each off six shots on goal on Sunday afternoon as the 16th-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology women's lacrosse team won its second-straight game with a 20-7 rout of Alfred University at the De Baun Athletic Complex in Hoboken, N.J. The Ducks are now 11-3 overall and 6-2 in the Empire 8 with the victory. As for the Saxons, they dropped to 2-10 and 0-8 in conference action.
Prior to the contest, Stevens honored its five graduating seniors, which are Kaitlyn Roes, Beth Rychcik, Rebecca DiLiberto, Stephanie Linder and Liz Mather.
With her five tallies, Pigott notched the 100th goal of her career - making her the fifth women's lacrosse player at Stevens to amass 100-plus goals. She also picked up five ground balls. Smith had two ground balls, two draws and four caused turnovers. She was also 2-for-2 in the free position. Mather and freshman midfielder Michelle Buonacuore posted two goals and four assists apiece. They also combined for five caused turnovers. Freshman midfielder Ana Trujillo amassed two goals, one assist, a ground ball and a caused turnover.
Roes totaled a goal, a pair of assists, eight ground balls, four draw controls and four caused turnovers. Sophomore midfielder Kara Borzillo amassed two points off a goal and an assist as well as three ground balls and three caused turnovers. Junior attacker Dana Perriello and freshman defender Claire Eudy chipped in with a goal each. Linder stopped two shots as she got her 10th win of the year.
Alfred was led by sophomore attacker Abbey Schaffnit (Bemus Point, N.Y.), who collected four points off a goal and three assists. She also accumulated three ground balls and five draws. Freshman attacker Michelle Adams (Horseheads, N.Y.) registered three goals and two draw controls. Freshman attacker Elyse Caldwell (Endwell, N.Y.) earned two goals, four caused turnovers and a team-high seven ground balls. Freshman goaltender Kate Baughman (Rush, N.Y.) made 10 saves in the loss.
After the Saxons struck first on a goal by Adams, the Ducks scored seven unanswered goals to take a 7-1 lead with 20:23 remaining in the opening half. Smith picked up a hat trick during the run. Pigott contributed two goals as well. Alfred responded with three consecutive goals to come within 7-4. Adams found the back of the cage twice, while sophomore defender Lisa Button (Troupsburg, N.Y.) contributed a goal as well. That would be as close as the Saxons would get throughout the remainder of the contest.
Stevens closed out the period by tallying four straight goals in the last 10:46 to head into the intermission ahead 11-4. Pigott and Smith accounted for the scoring in the burst. In the second half, the Ducks out-scored its opposition by a 10-3 count. Trujillo recorded her second and third goal of the season, while Eudy added her first tally of 2008.
Stevens held a 43-12 advantage in shots and a 30-20 margin in ground balls. It also owned an 18-11 edge in draw controls. On clears, the Ducks produced a conversion rate of 65.0 percent (13-of-20), while the Saxons were 8-of-22 (36.3 percent) in clearing attempts.
The Ducks return to the field this Wednesday when they host Drew University in their first night game of the season. The opening draw is scheduled for 7 p.m. and all of the action can be seen live at www.Empire8.tv.
