NEW BRITAIN, Conn.-  Monmouth University's (6-2, 1-0  NEC) women's lacrosse team earned its first Northeast Conference win of the season by earning a impressive 16-6 victory over Central Connecticut  State (5-4, 0-1 NEC) on Friday afternoon.

Ten different Hawks scored in the contest for Monmouth which improved to 6-2 on the season.  Junior Sam Lillo (Short Hills, N.J./Milburn) tied a career high with five points on three goals and two assists. Senior Molly O'Brien (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville) had four points in the win, including a trio of goals.

"I am very pleased with how well we played," said head coach Denise Wescott.  "The team moved the ball well and we found our slot cutters.  It was nice to see so many players score.  Our defense did a good job of stopping CCSU's drivers and causing turnovers."

The 16 goals are the most scored by Monmouth since a 21-13 win over Long Island on April 17, 2009.

Monmouth secured a 11-0 lead after the first half was completed, with senior midfielder Carissa Franzi (Fairfield, N.J./West Essex) tallying the first goal just 1:15 into the game.  Just over a minute later O'Brien scored her first goal to put the Hawks ahead 2-0.  Monmouth scored eight more goals over the next 20 minutes then added one with 1:39 left in the half to complete the scoring.

The two teams played scoreless through the first 13 minutes of the second frame before Central's Lyndsey Mastrandrea got the Blue Devils on the board with an unassisted goal.  O'Brien answered a few minutes later and MU took a 14-2 lead on goals by senior Kaitlin Feeney (Baltimore, Md./Towson HS) and sophomore Gianna D'Urso (Fairfield, N.J./West Essex).   O'Brien and junior Lynn White (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park) finished the scoring for the Hawks who eventually won 16-6.

Franzi had a pair of goals but led MU in the hustle stats category with four ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers.  D'Urso had a pair of goals to go along with her five ground balls and four draw controls.  Lillo also had four draw controls in addition to her five point effort.  Junior Olivia Salata (Broomall, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) had a season-high three points on a goal and two helpers.  Twenty-five different players saw in-game action for the Blue & White.

Senior netminder Kirby Mundorf (Cambridge, Md./Seton Keogh) had four saves while CCSU netminder Erin Delancy had nine stops as Monmouth held a 28-15 advantage in shots.  MU also gathered 16 draws compared to CCSU's eight while collecting a season-high 23 ground balls on the day.

MU, which is now 4-0 on the road in 2011, will face Bryant on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Smithfield, R.I.