HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 23, 2008) – Leading 13-11 with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation, the 19th-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology women's lacrosse surrendered five unanswered goals over the final 7:06 of the contest to drop a 16-13 decision to Drew University on Wednesday night at the De Baun Athletic Complex in Hoboken, N.J. With the loss, the Ducks dropped to 11-4 on the year. As for the Rangers, they improved to 9-5.
Knotted up at 7-all as the second half began, Drew began the period with two goals by senior midfielder Lindsey Perno (Medford, N.J.) to take a 9-7 lead. Both came on unassisted efforts. Stevens answered with two goals to tie the contest at 9-9. Freshman attacker Leah Wasserman and sophomore attacker Alyssa Pigott accounted for the scoring. Wasserman tallied her goal on a breakaway, while Pigott's tally came on a wrap-around.
The Rangers followed with two of the next three goals to grab hold of an 11-10 advantage with 15:50 left. Perno and freshman midfielder Sloane Coles (The Plains, Va.) each scored an unassisted goal. From that point, the Ducks took over as they earned three unanswered goals in a nine-minute stretch to take back the lead (13-11).
Freshman attacker Michelle Buonacuore got it all going by ripping a free-position shot into the lower left side of the cage. Freshman midfielder Christine Smith came next with a goal off a feed from freshman defender/midfielder Kate Cox. Cox took the ball down the length of the field to set-up Smith with the shot. Pigott capped it off with a score on a pass from Buonacuore.
But, in the final minutes, Drew showed that it still had life as it notched five consecutive tallies to come back and secure their fourth win in a row. Freshman attacker Cara Jeffries (Central Square, N.Y.) and freshman Stacie Brown (Upper Marlboro, Md.) each had goals on unassisted efforts. Jeffries registered the equalizer (13-13), while Brown followed with the deciding tally with 5:08 to go to put the score in the Rangers' favor for good.
Pigott finished with a game-high seven points on six goals and one assist. Wasserman posted four goals. She also won four draw controls. Buonacuore chipped in with a goal and two assists (three points). She also had a ground ball and a draw in the defeat. Junior defender Cassidy Callahan amassed three draw controls, two ground balls and two caused turnovers. Sophomore goalkeeper Grace Sack stopped 13 shots, which led all players in net.
Perno totaled six goals, three ground balls, three draws and a caused turnover. Brown recorded five goals and dished out one assist for six points. She also added three draw controls, two ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers. Jeffries collected a hat trick as well as a ground ball. Coles added a goal, five draws and a caused turnover. Sophomore goaltender Stef Rutkowski (Wilmington, Del.) made eight saves for Drew.
Stevens returns to the field this Saturday when it heads to Rochester, N.Y. for the 2008 Empire 8 Tournament. The Ducks will clash with the Cardinals of St. John Fisher College in a semifinal match-up hosted by Nazareth College at Golden Flyer Stadium. The opening draw is slated for 2 p.m. On April 12, Stevens dropped a 15-12 decision at St. John Fisher in an Empire 8 regular-season contest in Pittsford, N.Y.
