McDermott Hat Trick Pushes La Salle Past Lafayette
from press release
EASTON, PA - The La Salle women's lacrosse team
scored two goals in the final minute of the first half to take a
lead it would not relinquish in defeating host Lafayette, 9-8, on
Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Lauren McDermott led the Explorers
for the second straight game with three goals and five points.
For McDermott, the game capped a stellar week in which she scored a
total of seven goals and 13 points in a pair of La Salle victories,
improving the Blue and Gold's record to 2-1 early in the 2011
season.
"We are really proud of the effort our team put into today's game,"
head coach Candace Taglianetti said. "We had to fight through a lot
of mistakes, and despite our youth, we were able to keep our focus
and composure when it mattered most. We would rather not have put
ourselves in that position, but we will take the win and move
forward to the next game."
Sophomore Samantha Tulskie added two goals while junior Taylor
Ruland had a goal and three assists. Junior Megan Corliss stopped
11 shots to earn the win in the goal.
Freshman Maggie O'Ferrall put the Explorers on the board with a
goal at the 25:38 mark of a pass from McDermott. Lafayette tied the
score a minute later before Ruland found the back of the net almost
immediately following for a 2-1 La Salle lead.
The Leopards (0-2) scored four of the next six goals, sandwiching
tallies by McDermott and sophomore Melanie Sarcinello, to take a
5-4 advantage with 1:36 remaining before intermission.
But before the break, La Salle scored a pair of goals that would
give the visitors the lead for good. Junior Nora McGurkin scored
with 45 seconds left to tie it up and Tulskie gave La Salle the
lead with her score with nine seconds remaining to make it 6-5.
Ruland assisted on both goals.
McDermott extended the lead to 7-5 early in the second half and
after a Leopard tally, scored another and assisted on Tulskie's
second to make it 9-6. Lafayette scored once with 4:32 left and
again at the 3:08 mark but La Salle's defense held tight for its
second straight win.
Addie Godfrey and Cammie Linville added two goals for the
Leopards.
The Leopards held a 27-17 advantage in shots and a 16-15 lead in
ground balls. Both teams caused seven turnovers.
La Salle is back in action on Friday when it hosts Villanova at 7
PM.
