WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.- After falling behind by a goal in the first three minutes, Monmouth launched a 5-0 run to take the lead and never looked back. The MU women's lacrosse team improved to 8-3 overall on Tuesday with a 21-6 win over Patriot League opponent Lafayette at Kessler Field.
Lafayette's Maddy Booth started the scoring up at the 27:25 mark to give Lafayette the 1-0 edge but the Hawks responded with five unanswered goals over the next 10 minutes, including two from junior Colleen Burg (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) to take a 5-1 advantage. Booth broke the scoring streak with 16:50 left but MU's Amy Hansen (Lexington Park, Md./Leonardstown)took a pass from Burg 40 seconds later and beat Leopard goalkeeper Christine McDougal. Eight minutes later Ashley Waldman (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) and Ali Pollock (Watervliet, N.Y./Shaker) notched back-to-back goals and the score sat at 8-2. A Lafayette goal cut the lead to five but MU freshman Megan Brennan (King of Prussia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) scored two straight goals which senior Katie Degen followed up with her second goal to give MU a 11-3 lead. The Hawks went into the break up 13-3 after freshman Brittany McLaughlin (Coram, N.Y./Longwood) scored back-to-back goals at the four minute mark and with 13 seconds left.
Carolyn Raveia's back-to-back scores started up the second half with Pollock and Waldman picking up two more scores each. Lafayette's Casey Sharkey scored two of her teams final three goals, but the Hawks notched four more in that time, including a Degen assisted Shawn Evans' (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) goal. With the 21-6 win in the books, Monmouth improves to 8-3 with the Leopards falling to 0-11 on the season.
Monica Johnson (Radnor, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) got the start and the win for MU, with senior Becca Ozl (Manassas, Va./Osborn Park) coming in to play the final 23 minutes. The two finished with seven combined saves as Monmouth outshot Lafayette 41-16.
Degen finished with a trio of goals but had a career-high five assists, which is the second best effort in school history. McLaughlin had three goals and an assist for a career-high four points while Waldman finished with three goals and three ground balls. Pollock had two goals and two caused turnovers and Raveia finished with two scores. Burg finished with two goals and an assist. Megan Nutter (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) and Amy Hanson finished with a goal and an assist each. Kaitlyn Robinson had another solid day for the Hawk defenders, tallying six ground balls and three caused turnovers.
Booth and Sharkey had two goals each on the day while McDougal gathered 10 saves in the contest.
The Hawks return home to face St. Francis (Pa.) on Thursday, April 5 for a 4 p.m. tilt.
