New Paltz Women's Lacrosse Unable to Climb Back in 22-12 Loss to Scranton
NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Despite scoring five of the first six goals of the second half, the State University of New York at New Paltz women's lacrosse team (4-3) was unable to close out the University of Scranton (7-2), as the Royals won by a 22-12 final in a non-conference game Wednesday afternoon at the Turf Field.
Freshman midfielder Lianne Valdivia (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) scored the game's first goal with 26:26 to go in the first half, finding the back of the net unassisted. The Royals received markers from Jilliana DePaolera and Kerry Sullivan to grab a 2-1 edge, but Valdivia scored unassisted once again to knot the tally at 2-all. Deanna Giorno and DePaolera netted back-to-back scores to push the lead to two, but junior attack player Juli Rehain (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) drew the Hawks within one with an unassisted goal with 14:05 left on the clock in the first stanza. DePaolera, Emily Goss and Sullivan gave Scranton a four-goal cushion before Valdivia broke the scoring spree by converting on a free-position shot with nine minutes left in the period. Giorno, Goss and Sullivan all scored for the Royals in the final 3:03 of the first half to give the visitors a 10-4 halftime lead.
The Hawks played inspired lacrosse coming out of the break, as senior attack player Samantha DelGaudio (Northport, N.Y./Northport) put away an unassisted goal in the opening minute of the new half, but Sullivan answered back a minute later to keep the margin at its halftime score. Sophomore attack player Talia Tesler (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) scored the first of four straight Hawk goals, however, cashing in on a free-position shot, and senior midfielder Julia Donato (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) scored back-to-back markers with assists going to junior attack player Brianna Horn (Wantagh, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) and junior attack player Erin Tornatore (Glen Cove, N.Y./North Shore), respectively. Tornatore closed the spurt with a goal off a pass from freshman midfielder Carissa Citro (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place), and New Paltz pulled within two at 11-9.
Scranton engineered a response after calling a timeout, scoring three straight off goals from Goss, Shannon Howe and Sullivan. Freshman midfielder Julia Johnson (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) tacked on one more for the Hawks with a free-position goal with 19:14 to go in regulation before Giorno buried a marker less than a minute later. Donato netted her third score of the game off a DelGaudio feed, but Scranton piled on goals in the remaining minutes of the contest, tallying seven more markers. DelGaudio broke up the streak with10:11 left in the second half with a goal off a free-position attempt.
Scranton outshot New Paltz by a 37-28 margin, but it went just 1-for-5 on free-position attempts. Both teams posted nearly identical clearing numbers, as the Royals went 15-for-18 on clear attempts, while the Hawks went 14-for-18. Scranton also struggled to hang onto the ball, committing 19 turnovers to New Paltz's 15.
Valdivia and Donato led New Paltz with three goals each, while DelGaudio pitched in with two. Tornatore, Tesler, Rehain and Johnson added one score apiece. In addition, Citro, DelGaudio, Horn and Tornatore each had an assist. Tornatore played a strong all-around game, as she scooped up a game-high-tying seven ground balls and controlled a team-high five draws.
Scranton's Giorno wound up with a game-high 10 points, which she achieved off four goals and six assists, while Sullivan finished with eight points, which came off seven goals and one assist. Goss (5) and DePaolera (3) each added multi-goal performances, while Kaitlin Lazorko, Howe and Christine Dredger all scored once. Lazorko dished out three assists, while DePaolera and Sullivan boasted one apiece. Howe tied Tornatore for the game-high in ground balls with seven, while Goss came up with a game-high 10 draw controls. Defensively, Howe and DePaolera tied for the game-high in caused turnovers with two.
Senior goalkeeper Stefanie Mignone (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem East) was saddled with the loss, stopping 11 shots in net for the Hawks, while Kathleen Smart registered 13 saves in the winning effort for the Royals.
New Paltz begins State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play on Saturday, March 31, as it hosts SUNY Fredonia at 1 p.m. at the Turf Field.
