DELAND, FL- Monmouth University's women's lacrosse team earned a 16-11 season-opening victory over Stetson (0-2) on Saturday afternoon with junior Nicole Ceraso (Massapequa, NY/Plainedge) leading the charge with eight points.
 
Ceraso's eight points ties a career-high while six other Hawks scored goals including hat tricks by Ally Turturro (Sound Beach, NY/Miller Place) and Logan Smet (Rockville, MD/Academy of Holy Cross). The Hawks forced 14 turnovers and won 15 total draws while goalie Riley Brager (Reisterstown, MD/Roland Park Country) made six saves in net for the Blue & White.
 
Monmouth opened up a 10-4 lead after the first 30 minutes of play, sparked by Turturro's trio of goals. The Hawks pushed their lead to 14-6 on sophomore Caroline Bleck's (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) second goal of the afternoon but the Hatters rattled off four goals in 10+ minutes to climb to 15-10. Each team would add one more goal in the final seven minutes to finish the scoring at 16-11.
 
NOTES & QUOTES
"Season opening games bring a different set of challenges then we have experienced all preseason so I was happy to see that we found a way to win even though it wasn't perfect. Starting off 2019 with a win sends a great message and I am so proud of the work the team put in the last few weeks to get this result."
-Monmouth Head Coach Jordan Trautman
 

• Ceraso now has 71 career assists, four away from tying Stacy Sydlo (Austin) for fourth all-time
• It is the second time Ceraso has tallied eight points in a game (2/11/17)
• She has now recorded four assists in five games and five assists in one game
• It is the 10^th time Monmouth has opened the season with a win and the first time since the 2017 season
• It was the first time MU has faced Stetson and the first opponent from the state of Florida
• Starting her second season, Jordan Trautman improves to 9-10 overall as the head coach of the Hawks
• Senior Monica Cortes finished with three ground balls and three caused turnovers to lead the defense
• Caroline Bleck, Rachel Mills, and Alynne Abney all made their first starts for the Hawks                                                                                                                                            

NUMBERS CRUNCH

• The Hawks outshot the Hatters 40-25, including 20-10 in the first half
• The Hatters committed 28 turnovers in the contest
• Each team was 2-8 on free position attempts
• Stetson netminder Kara McCarthy finished with 16 saves in the contest
• Hatter Taylor Zuberer had four goals to lead her team
• Sarah Gillogly was 1-1 on free position attempts for the Hawks
• Freshman Gina Verrone had three ground balls and two caused turnovers in her first collegiate action
• Smet finished with four points on three goals and an assist

UP NEXT
The Hawks will host Holy Cross on Saturday, February 23 in the 2019 home opener. The Hawks and Crusaders are slated for a 12 PM start.