NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Albertus Magnus College women's lacrosse team kicked off the 2020 season with a hard-fought 16-15 victory over Elms College on Wednesday evening at Celentano Field. Five different players scored goals in the Falcon victory.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 16 | Elms 15
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (1-0) | Elms (0-2)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
After giving up the first goal of the day, the Falcons answered by scoring the next three to go up 3-1 after the first 13:36. Kaitlin D'Agostino (Hamden, Conn.) scored first on a free-position attempt, while Keegan Riccio (West Haven, Conn.) and Madison Neilander (Wallingford, Conn.) followed closely behind with tallies of their own.
Albertus went on to score three of the next five goals to take a 6-3 advantage at the 11:11 mark of the first half. Neilander scored twice over the run, while Korina Zelaya (Trumbull, Conn.) netted her first of four goals on the evening.
Elms tied the game at 7-7 by scoring three of the next four goals, the lone standout being a woman-down goal by Zelaya. The Falcons answered by netting four of the last five goals before halftime. Zelaya found the back of the net twice to go along with scores by Neilander and Riccio to set the halftime score at 11-8 in favor of Albertus.
The Blazers began the second half on fire, scoring four of the first five goals to knot the game at 12-all with 17:01 left in the half. The Falcons' lone score came off the stick of Alexis Lape (Bristol, Conn.), who buried a pass from Sabrina Pohlig (West Palm Beach, Fla.) past the opposing keeper.
Albertus took a commanding 16-12 advantage over the next six minutes by scoring four goals in a row. Both Riccio and D'Agostino scored twice in the run for Albertus, the final goal coming with 11:09 remaining in the game.
The Falcons had to brave one more run by the Blazers, as the visitors netted three consecutive goals to cut the margin to one, 16-15, with 3:21 on the clock. With the game on the line, freshman keeper Kelly Musante (Wallingford, Conn.) stonewalled a Blazers' attacker and made a critical save with 1:14 left to secure the rookie's first career win. Musante finished the game with seven saves.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus - Kelly Musante (W, 1-0): Shots on Goal 22 | Goals-Against 15 | Saves 7
Elms - Sabrina Christie (L, 0-2): Shots on Goal 28 | Goals-Against 16 | Saves 12
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Albertus won 23 draw controls to Elms' 10.
• The Falcons scooped up 23 ground balls to Elms' 13.
• Albertus outshot the Blazers, 50-29.
• The Blazers' Sabrina Christie recorded 12 saves.
• The Falcons scored four free-position goals to the Blazers' one free-position tally.
• Elms' Haley Richards led all players on offense with five goals and four assists.
• The Blazers went 18-for-33 in clears, while Albertus went 12-for-17.
• Kaitlyn Ellsworth (Tolland, Conn.) led the Falcons with eight draw controls and 11 shots.
• Katherin Martinez (Norwalk, Conn.) paced the Falcons with seven ground balls.
NOTEWORTHY
• Albertus is 1-1 all-time against Elms College.
• Three different Falcons-Zelaya, Riccio and Neilander-all scored four goals apiece in tonight's victory.
• Zelaya led the offensive attack for Albertus with six points on four goals and two assists.
• Zelaya's six points is the highest mark for the senior since her freshman season.
• Riccio scored her first career goal in tonight's victory.
• Musante picked up the win in her first career start.
• Amanda McGeehan (Milford, Conn.), Bridget Rosikiewicz (Naugatuck, Conn.), Laila Webb, Musante and Riccio all made their first career appearances as freshmen tonight.
UP NEXT
The Falcons will be back in action on Wednesday, March 11th, with a home battle against Lycoming at 1 PM.