By Mike Henken, Staff Writer
The Susquehanna women’s lacrosse team suffered a tough 16–2 loss to conference-rival Scranton on Saturday at Weiss Field in Scranton, Pa.
The game began with Scranton jumping ahead early, as the nationally-ranked Royals scored two goals in the first five minutes of play. Junior midfielder Shannon Warburton scored both goals for the Royals.
As the first half dragged on, junior goalie Libby Dex made multiple saves in an attempt to keep the River Hawks in the game, but Scranton continued to pull away. The River Hawks were unable to get onto the board until the Royals had already established a comfortable 9–0 lead.
“I think as a team we need to work together to transition the ball into the attacking end and stay connected on the field,” junior attacker Gabi Toohey said.
With just seconds remaining in the first half of play, Susquehanna finally stopped the onslaught. Senior attacker Kathrina Demaio was able to score on an assist from junior attacker Stephanie Dowling for their first goal of the contest.
Scranton continued to control the action in the second half though, as they scored three times in the first 10 minutes of the half. The Royals scored seven times throughout the final 30 minutes of play.
Dex made 10 more saves in the second half to finish with 21on the day, which was a new career high for her. As the game neared its end, Toohey added a free position goal, but it ultimately wasn’t enough.
Leading the Royals on the day was senior attacker Elena Gallo who totaled six points on five goals and one assist. In addition, senior midfielder Christine Olert contributed four points on three goals and one assist while sophomore attacker Jill Henson had one goal and three assists.
Scranton also held sizeable advantages in shots, groundballs and draw controls. Overall, the Royals outshot Susquehanna 42-10, while also establishing a 30-13 groundball lead. In addition, Scranton won 17 of the game’s 20 draw controls.
As far as Susquehanna goes, Dex had quite a strong day, picking up three ground balls in addition to her career-high number of saves. Senior defender Alison Elf also had three ground ball pickups.
The River Hawks, 4-5 overall and 0-1 in Landmark Conference play, will return to action against Drew University on Saturday, March 30 on Sassafras Field in Selinsgrove, Pa.
