Women's Lacrosse March 06, 2011 Monmouth Sports Information

LACROSSE DOWNS LIBERTY 15-11 TO WIN THIRD STRAIGHT

LYNCHBURG, Va.- Monmouth University's women's lacrosse team (3-1) earned its third consecutive victory with a 15-11 win over Liberty (1-1) on Sunday night at Williams Stadium.

Juniors Erica Abendschoen (West Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell) and Sam Lillo (Short Hills, N.J./Milburn) had career highs in goals and points in the win for the Hawks. After falling behind early for the fourth straight game, Monmouth used four unanswered goals in the first half to take the lead, one it would not relinquish.

"The best thing about this team this season is when some of our top players are being over pressured others can step up such as Sam and Erica," said head coach Denise Wescott. "They both played really well and worked to get open. Kirstyn had a lot of looks at the cage, and Tori had a nice game really helping us get the ball up the field. Our contributions have come for a number of our players. Liberty was fast and physical and we had to work hard to run with them. It was a tough game, but the team really worked together to produce a win."

The teams were tied up at 1-1 when Liberty's Kristin Crowley scored her second goal of the game, which was followed up just over a minute later by a Karis Walborn goal to take a 3-1 lead. MU scored a pair of goals to tie it up, one from the stick of senior Molly O'Brien (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville) and one from Abendschoen. Liberty retook the lead at the 20:15 mark but Monmouth launched a 4-0 barrage; all within a four minute span in the middle of the first half. Abenschoen scored two of those goals with sophomore Kirstyn Urbas (Sewell, N.J./Washington Twp.) netting the other two. The first half ended with a Liberty goal at the 1:36 mark which was answered by senior Kaitlin Feeney's (Baltimore, Md./Towson H.S.) goal with 26 ticks left on the clock. The Baltimore product's goal gave MU an 8-5 lead going into halftime.

Liberty scored back-to-back goals to start the second half to cut MU's lead to two with just over 27 minutes to play. O'Brien's second goal of the game came at the 22:42 mark and regained the two goal margin for the Hawks but the Flames would tally their eighth goal five minutes later to slice into the lead to just one again. MU's offense stepped up to put Liberty away for good with a four goal run, lasting from the 16:42 mark until 11:58, with three of those goals coming from the stick of Lillo. With a five-goal lead and time running out, The Blue and White was able to outlast Liberty's attack, with the final score resting at 15-11.

Lillo had three goals and a two assists to lead Monmouth, both career highs for the junior. Senior Rachel Feirstein (St. James, N.Y./Smithtown East) had four points on a goal and three assists in the win. Abendschoen and senior Carissa Franzi (Fairfield, N.J./West Essex) each had three points, while Franzi added three draw controls and two caused turnovers in the win.

Kirby Mundorf (Cambridge, Md./Seton Keogh) had 10 saves to earn her third win of the season between the pipes for Monmouth.

The game was moved to 7 p.m. after rain rendered the lacrosse field unplayable at the original game-time of 1 p.m.

Liberty midfielder Nina Dunay led all scorers with six goals on nine shots. Lady Flame goaltender Kristen Masullo made seven saves in 48 minutes of work. Monmouth was whistled for 35 fouls, compared to just 19 for the Flames. Five of LU's goals came on free position attempts but Monmouth held a 32-24 advantage in shots.

Monmouth is back on the road against Binghamton on Friday at 4 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Kaitlin Feeney: MF; 5' 5"; Freshman

#19 Rachel Feirstein: MF; 5' 7"; Freshman

#6 Carissa Franzi: MF; 5' 4"; Freshman

#44 Kirby Mundorf: GK; 5' 8"; Freshman

#1 Molly O'Brien: MF; 5' 1"; Freshman

#3 Erica Abendschoen: MF; 5' 7"; Freshman

#12 Sam Lillo: A; 5' 2"; Freshman

#15 Kirstyn Urbas: MF; 5' 7"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#10 Kaitlin Feeney
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: MF

#19 Rachel Feirstein
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: MF

#6 Carissa Franzi
: 5' 4"; Freshman
: MF

#44 Kirby Mundorf
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: GK

#1 Molly O'Brien
: 5' 1"; Freshman
: MF

#3 Erica Abendschoen
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: MF

#12 Sam Lillo
: 5' 2"; Freshman
: A

#15 Kirstyn Urbas
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: MF