Freshman Allison Stathius scored twice in the final 13:45 to play, including the game-winning goal as the Hawks topped Sacred Heart (3-6, 2-1) in women’s lacrosse on Friday afternoon by a score of 9-7.
The win snapped a five-game losing streak against the Pioneers, dating back to the 2008 Northeast Conference semifinals. Stathius, who entered into the game with just one career-goal scored with 13:45 to give the Hawks their fourth lead of the game, 7-6. After SHU tied it up two minutes later, freshman attacker Meghan Hess (Lake Stevens, Wash./Lake Stevens) found Stathius near the net where she beat Pioneer goalie Kelly Keenan to put Monmouth up for good, 8-6. The MU defense held SHU to just two goals in the second frame, allowing their second lowest goal amount in 2012.
“This was a great win in the NEC for us over a good team in Sacred Heart,” said head coach Denise Wescott. “I think this is a special win for our seniors, who up until today had not beaten Sacred Heart. I thought we were composed and confident when the game was close on both sides of the ball. Our defense shut them down in the second half and Katie [Donohoe] stopped some big shots for us down the stretch. Offensively we worked the ball into good shots, their goalie really kept them in the game.”
The Hawks peppered Keenan, who made 17 saves, outshooting the Pioneers 33-14. Twenty-six of the MU shots found the goal while the Hawks dominated loose balls, gathering 27 ground balls, compared with just 13 for Sacred Heart.
“I think we are really starting to trust each other on offense,” said Wescott. Sam [Lillo], Lynn [White] and Ally [Stathius] got some good looks offensively. Sam [Savona] was big off the bench for us on the draw and got a couple of goals. When there is open space in front of the goal we are starting to feel more confident going one on one. Marino and Olivia [Salata] found open players throughout the game, setting up some of our opportunities and scores.”
Monmouth’s Alex Marino (Howell, N.J./Freehold Twp.) gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead after scoring at the 25:14 and 22:38 marks of the first period. SHU battled back to tie the game over the next three minutes but senior Sam Lillo (Short Hills, N.J./Milburn) regained the lead for the Hawks with her 16th goal of the season. Sacred Heart answered with a pair of goals to take a 4-3 lead with 16:47 remaining but MU’s Sam Savona (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Liberty/FDU) knotted things up on a feed from Salata five minutes later. The Pioneers chipped in another to take a 5-4 advantage but Lillo tallied her second goal of the game to send the teams into halftime tied at 5-5.
It took just 20 seconds of the second frame for MU to regain the lead, this time off the stick of Savona with Marino helping on the assist. The teams played even over the next 12 minutes before Sacred Heart’s Kelsey Russo scored her second goal of the game to tie it up for the fifth time in the contest. Stathius’ first goal came at 13:45 to give the Hawks a 7-6 lead but SHU responded two minutes later with an equalizing goal. The freshman went right back to work, scoring the eventual game-winner with 6:30 left in regulation. With 1:48 remaining senior Olivia Salata (Broomall, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) scored an insurance goal and the Hawks improved to 2-1 in Northeast Conference play.
Marino and Salata led the Hawks with three points each. Marino had two goals and an assist to go along with her career-high six ground balls. Defender Gianna D’Urso (Fairfield, N.J./West Essex) led the defense with four ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers. Freshman goalie Katie Donohoe (Peterborough, Ontario/Holy Cross Secondary) had three of her five saves in the latter part of the second frame.
The women’s lacrosse team (3-9, 2-2 NEC) could not keep pace with the offense of Quinnipiac University (4-4, 4-0 NEC), the defending Northeast Conference Champions, falling to the Bobcats 13-8 on Sunday.
“I thought Quinnipiac fought harder than we did today,” said MU coach Denise Wescott. “They beat us to the draw, they beat us to ground balls. Early we gave up too many fastbreaks and they took over. I was pleased that we did fight back and were able to get some second half goals.”
Monmouth returns home to Kessler Field for its next game, a Thurs¬day afternoon tilt with Central Connecticut State at 3:00 pm.
