Jersey Shocker: Stevens Outscores TCNJ
from press release
HOBOKEN, N.J. – The No. 12 Stevens Institute of
Technology women's lacrosse team came back from a five-goal
second-half deficit to stun third-ranked The College of New Jersey
on Thursday night at the De Baun Athletic Complex. Juniors Pamela
Loria and Leah Wasserman tallied four goals apiece as the Ducks
outscored the Lions 10-6 in the second half to earn the victory.
With the win, Stevens moves to 14-2 on the season, while TCNJ drops
to the same mark with the loss.
The first half was hotly contested with TCNJ going into the locker
room with an 8-6 lead. The Lions outshot the Ducks 17-15, but
Stevens picked up six ground balls compared to five for the Lions.
TCNJ took 9-of-15 draws as the Ducks were whistled for 18
first-half fouls.
Sophomore Michelle Buonacuore put the Ducks on the board early with
an unassisted tally 2:04 into the game. After TCNJ pulled even,
Loria tallied to put the Ducks up 2-1.
The Lions responded with five-straight goals, two each from junior
Ali Jaeger (Hampton, Va.) and freshman Jillian Nealon (Whitehouse
Station, N.J.), to open up a 7-2 advantage with 7:34 to go in the
first.
Buonacuore tallied to stop the bleeding 22 seconds after Jaeger's
second goal, and Wasserman made it a 7-4 game when she put home a
feed from junior Christine Smith. Jaeger tallied her third goal of
the half with 1:31 left but Buonacuore and Wasserman netted goals
28 ticks apart as the Ducks went into the break on a 4-1 run and
trailing by just two (8-6).
Wasserman opened the second-half scoring with a free-position goal
to cut the Lions' lead to one (8-7), but TCNJ exploded for
four-straight goals, three from sophomore Kathleen Notos
(Pennsauken, N.J.), to open up a 12-7 lead.
Senior Alyssa Pigott began the Stevens comeback with 15:24 to play
in the game and Loria netted a pair less than a minute apart to
make it 12-10 Lions with 13:07 to play.
Smith and Loria followed a TCNJ timeout with scores separated by
just 1:06 of game time to tie the score at 12, and after senior
Robin Deehan (Morris Plains, N.J.) put the Lions back on top with
10:10 remaining, freshman Joey Galligan answered to tie the score
at 13. Senior Lisa Seldeen (Wayne, N.J.) gave the Lions a one-goal
edge in the see-saw battle, but Pigott put in a gorgeous goal
thanks to a perfect pass in front from Loria to knot the game at
14-all.
Just 27 seconds after Pigott's goal, Wasserman tallied the
game-winner with 5:34 remaining. TCNJ won the ensuing draw control
and had a chance to tie but senior goalkeeper Shannon McFadden, who
had a great game in between the pipes, made a stop on a TCNJ
free-position attempt, and freshman Spencer Waybright sealed the
deal with an insurance goal with 1:34 to go.
The Lions, who had only let up 12 goals in a game twice this year,
let up 10 in the second half. The Ducks ended with a 38-28 edge in
shots and each team picked up nine ground balls. There were only 11
turnovers in the entire 60 minutes (TCNJ: four, Stevens: seven),
but a total of 65 fouls were called (TCNJ: 24, Stevens: 41). The
Ducks won 11-of-16 draw controls in the second half and 17-of-31
for the game.
McFadden was splendid in goal, totaling 13 saves and earning the
win. Her counterpart, junior Mary Waller (Bel Air, Md.) made nine
saves in the loss.
Wasserman and Loria each had four goals and one assist, while
Pigott tallied twice, handed out four assists, picked up a ground
ball, and controlled a game-high seven draws. Buonacuore scored
three goals as Smith and Waybright each had two points on a goal
and an assist. Smith also had two draw controls and two ground
balls, and junior Kate Cox (Aston, Pa.) collected two ground
balls.
TCNJ was led by five points from Seldeen and four from Notos.
Deehan and Jaeger had three goals apiece, and Notos picked up a
game-high five ground balls.
Stevens will return to action next weekend at Ithaca College in the
Empire 8 Women's Lacrosse Championship. The second-seeded Ducks
will take on third-seeded Rochester Institute of Technology on May
8 at 2 p.m. The winner will advance to take on top seed Ithaca or
fourth-seeded Nazareth College on Sunday, May 9.
