ANNVILLE, Pa. (April 1, 2021)  – Using a highly-effective offense paired with a smothering defensive effort, the Stevens Institute of Technology women's lacrosse team scored eight unanswered goals during a key second-half run to defeat Lebanon Valley College 17-9 Thursday in a non-conference matchup on Arnold Field.

Fifth-years Kyra Bednarski and Emily Shanklin accounted for three of the eight unanswered goals in the second half that saw Stevens turn a one-goal lead into a 16-7 advantage. During the game-changing 17-minute stretch, senior Peyton Taylor made two of her season-high seven saves and the Ducks held Lebanon Valley to just nine possessions, courtesy of six draw controls and six Flying Dutchmen turnovers.

For the game, Bednarski and Shanklin each scored five times for the Ducks, who evened their record at 3-3. Bednarski also added three assists to finish with eight points, while Shanklin added one assist to total six. It was the program's first contest on April Fools' Day since 2017 and improved the program's record on Apr. 1 to 4-1 all-time. 

Veronica Venezia had four goals to lead Lebanon Valley, who fell to 4-3. The loss snapped the Flying Dutchmen's two-game winning streak and it was the first meeting between the teams since May 10, 2015.

"I'm really proud of every single student-athlete," said head coach Karen Shaddock. "They were able to take everything we worked on the last couple of days and put it together. It took all of us!"

"Overall, I am really happy with our performance today," Shaddock continued. "I feel like we were finally able to find our flow."

Sophomore Zoe Cook scored three times for her third career hat trick as six different student-athletes were able to find the scoresheet. Junior Morgan Westerby added a pair of goals and classmate Natalie Fitzpatrick had a goal and an assist. Sophomore Maris Daly netted her fourth goal of the season in the second half to round out the Ducks' scoring. 

"Our offense played great team ball and executed on open opportunities," Shaddock said. "Kyra and Emily played great and opened up opportunities for Zoe, Jules and Maris."

Playing all 60 minutes for the first time this season, Taylor stopped four shots in the first half and three in the second to pick up her third win of the season. Her save on Venezia's shot midway through the first half marked the 100th career save for the Phillipsburg, New Jersey native. Julia Abendschoen made 10 saves in defeat for Lebanon Valley. 

"Our defense played with confidence and made some big stops," Shaddock commented. "Peyton played fantastic in the cage."

After Fitzpatrick won the opening draw control, Bednarski took advantage of the first possession of the game, netting her 25th goal of the year to give the Ducks the lead just 51 seconds into the contest. The marker extended the Syracuse, New York native's goal-scoring streak to 46 and moved her point streak to 68. For her career, Bednarski has 360 points and is five points shy of matching Hall of Famer Valerie Barnhart for second place on the program's all-time career scoring list. She's 30 points shy of becoming the program's all-time leading scorer. 

Jaclyn Little put Lebanon Valley on the board five minutes into the contest and the teams continued to alternate goals with Shanklin accounting for the Ducks' final two scores of the first half, that saw Stevens take an 8-6 lead into the intermission. Finishing the afternoon with five goals and an assist, the Berkeley, Michigan native matched her season high in points and turned in her best goal-scoring effort since Mar. 6, 2019.

Venezia opened second-half scoring on Lebanon Valley's first possession of the frame, trimming the Ducks' lead to 8-7. Bednarski netted her fourth goal of the day one possession later, beginning the Ducks' dominant stretch that saw seven different student-athletes find the back of the net to seize control of the game.

Emily Beard finally solved Taylor to end the Ducks' scoring run with Brittany Hathaway and Bednarski exchanging goals over the final five minutes of the game to produce the final outcome.

Stevens fired off 32 shots on the day, spreading their attempts nearly equally over the two halves. Bednarski led all student-athletes with 10 attempts, while Shanklin and Cook fired off six each. Venezia took five shots to lead Lebanon Valley. 

The Ducks forced 18 Flying Dutchmen turnovers in the contest, with nine coming in each half. Fifth-year Kayla Buel registered a pair of caused turnovers as Stevens totaled eight caused turnovers on the afternoon. Lebanon Valley caused three of the Ducks' 12 turnovers, 

Each side scooped up 14 ground balls in the game with each respective goalie leading their team's efforts. Taylor picked up three ground balls to lead the Ducks, while junior Brynne Pergolini and classmate Meredith Conlin each had two. Abendschoen led all student-athletes with six.

The Ducks finished the game with a 16-12 advantage in draw controls, although the margin was especially advantageous in the second half, where Stevens out-earned Lebanon Valley 9-4 over the game's final 30 minutes. Cook and Daly each corralled five draw controls to lead the Ducks, while Fitzpatrick had three. Westerby had a pair of draws, while Buell had one to round out Stevens' efforts. Hathaway had seven to lead all participants.

"Maris, Zoe, Nat and Morgan played great on the draw and won us crucial possessions," Shaddock offered.

Stevens was 20 for 22 on clears, running their season success rate to 84 percent. After Lebanon Valley went a perfect 8 for 8 in the first half, the Ducks held the Flying Dutchmen to just 5 of 8 in the second half. 

The Ducks were 3 for 3 on free-position shots. Bednarski converted each of her eight-meter attempts, while Westerby scored on her lone chance. Lebanon Valley went 2 for 4 on free-position shots with Beard joining Venezia in scoring on the eight-meter attempt.

There were four penalties in the contest, three for the Ducks and one for the Flying Dutchmen. Westerby's second-half goal came on the powerplay, while the Ducks were able to kill off two of their three yellow cards.

Up Next: Women's Lacrosse welcomes No. 7 York College of Pennsylvania to the DeBaun Athletic Complex on Apr. 3 for the Ducks' final non-conference matchup of the season. It will be the first meeting between the programs since the 2013 season. Links for live stats and video are available on StevensDucks.com.

Please note that all event times, dates and opponents are subject to change and fans remain prohibited from attending Middle Atlantic Conference athletic events.

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