COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's lacrosse team (0-3) fell behind early and couldn't recover in suffering an 18-6 loss to third-ranked Long Island University-C.W. Post in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon on Duffy Field at Doc Jacobs Complex.
For C.W. Post (3-0), sophomore Lauren Spagnoletta (West Islip, N.Y.) led a balanced scoring attack with three goals, while senior Staci Passafiume (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) added two goals and five assists. Sophomore Ashley Olen (East Islip, N.Y.) chipped in with two goals and one helper, while senior Kim Williams (Long Valley, N.J.) and sophomore Nan Mayott (Islip, N.Y.) each scored twice. Junior Sam Powers (Holbrook, N.Y.) and freshman Dominique Mosca (Merrick, N.Y.) combined to stop six shots in goal as 12 players scored at least one goal for the Pioneers.
For Saint Michael's, sophomore Eliza Scoba (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) netted a game-high three goals, while seniors Maddie Cave (Thomaston, Maine/Gould Academy) and Kathleen Thompson (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck), along with freshman Kaitlyn Newdorf (Auburn, N.H./Manchester Memorial), recorded a goal apiece. Sophomore Sandra Palumbo (Guilford, Conn./Guilford) turned aside seven first-half shots, while junior Meghan McLaughlin (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth) notched five saves in the second half.
C.W. Post seized control early, as the Pioneers scored four times in the opening 4:20 to take a quick 4-0 lead. The Pioneers went scoreless over the next eight minutes, but then netted six goals in a 10-minute span to open up a double-digit advantage, 10-0. Scoba got the Purple Knights on the scoreboard with 33 seconds to go in the first half, but a Pioneers' goal just before the halftime buzzer gave the visitors an 11-1 advantage at intermission.
After another Scoba goal early in the second half cut the Purple Knights' deficit to 11-2, the Pioneers sealed the win by scoring seven unanswered goals, taking an 18-2 lead with 14 minutes to go. Saint Michael's trimmed its deficit in the final 11 minutes of the game, netting four goals, including a pair of man-up tallies, but couldn't overcome the sizable disadvantage.
C.W. Post finished with a 32-17 edge in shots and a 20-12 advantage in ground balls. Saint Michael's committed 23 turnovers to just 17 for the Pioneers, but Saint Michael's was able to win nearly half of the game's 26 faceoffs (12-of-26).
Saint Michael's returns to action on Saturday, March 27, as the Purple Knights open Northeast-10 Conference play with a 1 p.m. contest at American International College. C.W. Post next plays on Sunday at Bentley University at 12 p.m.
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