HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 22, 2019)  – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's lacrosse team scored four times on its first six shots en route to an 18-1 victory over The Sage Colleges Tuesday in an Empire 8 Conference matchup at the DeBaun Athletic Complex.

Junior Kyra Bednarski led the offense with nine points, while freshman Maeve McGovern matched a career high with four goals en route to a seven-point performance. Junior Hannah Condren added three goals and three assists for the Ducks, who snapped a two-game winning streak in improving to 7-9 on the year and 5-2 in league play. The victory pulled Stevens into a three-way tie with Nazareth and Utica in the conference standings. All three teams are a full game ahead of Hartwick.

"I am happy with the team's performance tonight," said head coach Karen Shaddock. "It was great to be home and have everyone play. It was a full team effort."

Brittany Gage had the lone marker for the Gators, who dropped their ninth straight game to fall to 2-12. Sage is 1-6 in conference contests.

Bednarski scored four goals for her 11th hat trick of the season, while also handing out five assists. She moved into fourth place on the all-time career scoring list, passing Erika Wilcox, who finished four-year career on Castle Point with 274 points. The Syracuse, New York native finished the night eight points shy of Leah Wasserman, who concluded her career with 285. Hall of Famer Alyssa Pigott is the program's career leader with 389 points with fellow Hall of Famer Valerie Barnhart in second with 365.

Junior Brianne Salera and sophomore Haley Hanrahan each scored twice for the Ducks, who reached double figures for the 10th time this season. Junior Emily Shanklin joined freshmen Natalie Fitzpatrick and Gale Bennett in adding a goal, while freshman Morgan Westerby added an assist to round out Stevens' scoring,

"Tonight was bigger than just a win on the field," Shaddock reflected. "We teamed up with Sage to make this a Lax4life game to raise money for suicide awareness. It was also our faculty and staff appreciation game, so it was nice to let everyone that has a part in our program know much we appreciate what they do."

Sophomore Peyton Taylor made her sixth straight start and combined with classmate Olivia Demetres to post a scoreless first half. Freshman Lauren Cunniff made her fourth appearance of the season and made three saves. Marina Azab started for Sage and made four saves. Carly Plaisance relieved Azab in the second half and allowed three goals, while making one save.

Shanklin won the game's opening draw control. Bednarski fired the first shot of the game and Azab snagged the scoring attempt to give Sage its first possession of the game. Azab began Sage's first clearing attempt, but promptly threw the ball away to return the ball to the Ducks. Stevens turned Sage 15 times on the Gators' 19 clearing attempts. The Ducks converted three of their five clears.

Following the Sage turnover, McGovern netted her first of the game to open scoring. Shanklin collected the next draw control and took Stevens' next shot, but Azab was up to the task and made her second save of the game. However, Sage failed to clear the ball when Tashariff Carr collided with McGovern and was called for an offensive foul.

Stevens benefited from the turnover 37 seconds later when Condren netted her first of the game. The Walkersville, Maryland native has totaled all 17 of her goals over the last eight games. Condren's tally began a sequence that saw Stevens score on three straight shots over a 1:17 stretch that pushed the lead to four.

Following a Condren scoring attempt that ricocheted of the post, the Ducks scored on three consecutive shots for the second time in the game. McGovern's second of the day began the 1:45 stretch and the Floral Park, New York native's goal was followed by tallies from Condren and Salera that pushed the lead to seven.

The Ducks added six goals over the remainder of the half to take a 13-0 lead into the intermission.

Bennett opened second-scoring with her 10 of the year. The Wellesley, Massachusetts native became the seventh player to reach double figures in scoring. The lead swelled to 17 before Gage spoiled the shutout bid. McGovern added her fourth in the final minute to close out the scoring.

Stevens outshot Sage 29-4, including a decisive 21-0 margin in the first half, when a staunch defensive effort didn't allow the Gators to cross into the attacking third.Twenty-three of the Ducks' 29 shots registered on net, while each of Sage's four attempts were on goal. Bednarski paced Stevens with five attempts, while McGovern and Condren each took four. Anne Risler fired two shots to lead Sage.

The Ducks forced the Gators into 19 turnovers, with Shanklin recording a game-high three caused turnovers. Although Stevens finished with 15 miscues on the evening, only six were committed in the first half. The edge in turnovers helped the Ducks garner a 15-10 margin in ground balls. Shanklin and Fitzpatrick led the Ducks with three ground balls each, while Gage and Kerry McKeown each scooped up three to pace Sage.

The home team's offensive prowess began on the draw control, with Shanklin earning seven draw controls to help the Ducks achieve a 17-4 advantage. Hanrahan earned four for the Ducks, who saw five different players collect at least one. Gage collected two to lead Sage.

"I thought Hannah and [Regan Littell] played great and were great leaders on the field," Shaddock commented. "Emily and Haley connected on the draw again, which was great to see. Offensively, it was nice to see a lot of players step up and handle the ball for us."

Bednarski netted her milestone point on a free-position attempt in the first half, while Cunniff stopped Risler on Sage's only free-position attempt of the day. 

Up Next: Women's Lacrosse welcomes Hartwick College to campus for the regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon. The Ducks are a perfect 11-0 all-time against the Hawks, including a 5-0 mark at the DeBaun Athletic Complex. Live stats and video links are available at StevensDucks.com.

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