WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (April 17, 2021)  – Junior Morgan Westerby netted a career-high four goals to help the Stevens Institute of Technology women's lacrosse team to a 19-4 victory over King's (Pa.) Saturday in a MAC Freedom matchup at McCarthy Stadium. 

Westerby was one of three Ducks to finish with a hat trick on the day as Stevens built a 14-1 halftime lead. The victory moved the Ducks to 6-4 on the season and to 5-2 in conference play. Stevens remains in third place in the conference standings. The Ducks have won two straight. 

Emma Lehman scored twice for King's, who dropped to 3-6 on the year and to 3-4 in league play. The Monarchs have dropped three of their last four contests. It is believed to be the first meeting between the teams.

"We played great today," said head coach Karen Shaddock. "We are really starting to click on and off the field and it feels really good. It's taken a lot of hard work and commitment and I'm really proud [of the team]."

Junior Camryn Rogers finished with six goals to post her fifth straight hat trick, Fifth-year Kyra Bednarski added three goals to extend her goal scoring streak to 51. Junior Natalie Fitzpatrick scored twice, as did sophomore Zoe Cook. Fifth-year Emily Shanklin and junior Sam Gajda added one goal each to round out the Ducks' goal scorers.

In a tell-tale sign of true team offense, the Ducks registered 11 assists on 16 of the team's non-free-position goals. Bednarski led the way with four assists, while Rogers and Fitzpatrick had two each. Cook, Shanklin and sophomore Julieann Murphy added one each to complete the Ducks' offensive efforts. The Ducks have recorded double-digit assists in three of their six wins this season.

"Kyra and Emily are great leaders on our offense and set the tone," Shaddock said. "We are learning how to work with each other and create opportunities for teammates."

"Cam, Morganand Nat played great games," Shaddock continued. "Maris did a great job on the draw and won a lot of opportunities for us. Our defense also did a good job and didn't give King's many chances. Overall, this was a great performance going into next week and the playoffs the following week. We are excited to build off of this."

Senior Peyton Taylor made the start in the cage, making one save to earn the victory. Junior Lauren Cunniff took over at the start of the second half. Orla Cottell played all 60 minutes for King's, making eight saves in defeat.

After a scoreless opening seven minutes, Cook was able to get Stevens on the board, breaking through for her 18th goal of the year. Shanklin would capture the ensuing draw control to return possession to the Ducks and Cook solved Cottell for the second time in less than a minute to give the Ducks a two-goal lead.

After Cook gave Stevens the lead, the Ducks turned up the offensive pressure scoring nine times over the next 11 minutes to essentially put the game out of reach. Westerby's first of the day began the defining sequence, with Bednarski scoring three times in less than 90 seconds to punctuate the stretch.

Rogers netted her fourth of the day to push the Ducks' lead to 12 before King's finally got on the board, courtesy of a short-handed goal. Rogers then followed with a pair of goals over the final two minutes to send Stevens into the intermission with a 14-1 lead. The Ducks rank third in the MAC Freedom in goals per games and second in assists per game, with Bednarski pacing the conference in points per game (a career-best 6.40) and Rogers ranking third (5.83). 

Lehman opened second-half scoring for King's, only for three straight Duck goals pushing the lead back to 15. The teams alternated two-goal runs to provide the game's final margin.

Stevens outshot King's 35-7, with 27 of the Ducks' 35 attempts registering on net. Rogers led all student-athletes with nine shots for the second straight game, while Bednarski had seven. The Ducks held their opponent to a mere seven shots for the second straight game. 

The Ducks forced King's into 16 turnovers in the game, including 10 in the first half. Bednarski caused three turnovers as Stevens caused nine of the Monarchs' 16. 

Rogers led all student-athletes with five draw controls as the Ducks held a 17-7 advantage on the day, including a decisive 11-4 margin in the opening half that directly helped Stevens build its lead. Zoe Cook and sophomore Maris Daly each added three, with Fitzpatrick and Shanklin each earning two to round out Stevens' efforts. MK Klodarska earned three draws to lead King's. 

Stevens held a slim 16-10 advantage in ground balls with junior Meredith Conlin leading the way with three. 

The Ducks went 3 for 5 on free-position shots, with Gajda and Rogers each converting their only attempt of the game, while Bednarski went 1 for 3. Emma Leshman converted an eight-meter attempt as King's finished 1 for 2.

Up Next: Women's Lacrosse welcomes No. 9 York College of Pennsylvania to the DeBaun Athletic Complex on Apr. 23 for the Ducks' regular season finale. 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.

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