RADNOR, Pa. (March 6, 2009) - The Stevens Institute of Technology women's lacrosse team won its third-straight game to open the 2009 season on Friday afternoon in Radnor, Pa as the Ducks defeated Cabrini College, 16-11. Stevens was in control throughout most of the contest as it took an 11-5 lead into the locker room at halftime and never felt threatened en route to the five-goal win. The Ducks were led by junior attack Alyssa Pigott, sophomore attack Leah Wasserman, and sophomore midfielder Christine Smith.
Stevens jumped out to a 6-2 lead with 17 minutes remaining in the first half following Pigott's second score of the contest. Cabrini cut its deficit to three goals, 7-4, after Amanda Alexandrowicz (Ridley, Pa.) buried her second marker of the opening half at the 10-minute mark. The Ducks closed the first half on a 4-2 run, owning an 11-6 lead at the intermission.
Stevens opened the second with three-straight scores from Wasserman, claiming a game-high eight-goal lead, 14-6 with 25 minutes remaining.
Cabrini responded with four of the game's next five goals, crawling back to within five goals, 15-10, with 10:33 on the clock. The Ducks however buckled down on defense and controlled the ball for the final 10-plus minutes of regulation to secure the 16-11 win.
Pigott led an impressive Stevens scoring attack as the Ducks scored more than 15 goals for the third time in as many games. Pigott finished with five goals, two assists, five ground balls, and five draw controls, and Wasserman netted four goals on seven shots. She also had two ground balls and a caused turnover. Smith had another fantastic all-around game, scoring three times, scooping up five ground balls, securing five draw controls, and causing a game-high five turnovers. Junior attack Katie Lalli scored twice, as freshman midfielder Jenna Scheibling and sophomore midfielder Karen Federico had the other Stevens tallies.
Defensively, senior goalkeeper Grace Sack had 10 saves, four ground balls, and a caused turnover. Sophomore Kate Cox was solid, picking up four ground balls and causing four turnovers and junior Fionuala Quinn had a ground ball, a draw control and three caused turnovers.
Stevens ended with a 41-27 advantage in shots and picked up 27 ground balls compared to 21 for Cabrini. The Cavaliers won 15 of the 29 draw controls but turned the ball over 24 times.
The Ducks will return to action on March 10 at Montclair State University. The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.
