BROOKLYN, N.Y.- Monmouth University's women's lacrosse team
evened its record at 8-8 (6-2 NEC) with a 10-5 win over Long Island in Brooklyn
on Friday night.
Monmouth controlled the first half action, taking a 6-1 lead into halftime
while outshooting the Blackbirds by a 17-8 margin. Rachel Feirstein (St. James, N.Y./Smithtown
East) got the Hawks on the board first at the 26:09 mark, to give MU a 1-0
lead. Almost 12 minutes would go by
before MU scored its second goal, this time on a Brittney McLaughlin (Coram,
N.Y./Longwood) to Pollock feed. LIU cut
into the lead by tallying its first goal with 3:52 to play but Monmouth would
get two goals in the final 1:04 of the half to give the Blue & White a 6-1
lead. The Hawks might have been able to capitalize
on more opportunities but the squad turned the ball over 11 times in the first
30 minutes.
Junior Carissa Franzi (Fairfield, N.J./West Essex) notched back to back goals
for the Hawks to start the second frame, expanding the MU lead to 8-1 with
22:44 left in regulation. Long Island
made a late push in the game, scoring four goals compared to just two for the
Hawks in the final minutes while outshooting MU 23-12 in the second half of
play.
Franzi recorded a career-high four goals in the contest to compliment her five
ground balls and two caused turnovers. Freshman
Gianna D'Urso (Fairfield, N.J./West Essex) had a career-high five ground balls
and three caused turnovers from her midfield position. Senior Ali Pollock (Watervliet, N.Y./Shaker)
finished with two goals and two assists in the win.
Both MU goaltender Kirby Mundorf (Catonsville, Md./Seton Keogh) and LIU goalie
Jaqueline Simonian had 12 saves in the contest.
Five different Blackbirds scored in the contest.
In the end Monmouth was outshot by LIU 31-29 and committed two more turnovers
than the Blackbirds. The Hawks held a
10-6 advantage on the draw and grabbed one more ground ball than the home team.
Monmouth, who has already locked up a spot in next weekend's NEC Tournament,
will close out the regular season on Sunday against Wagner.
