NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College women's lacrosse team picked up its third win of the season on Tuesday night, defeating in-state rival the Blue Jays of the University of Saint Joseph (CT) by a final score of 10-9 at Celentano Field.
Katherine Raposo (Warwick, R.I.) and Keegan Riccio (West Haven, Conn.) led the Falcons' offensive machine, as both tallied hat tricks in the contest. Raposo scored five goals, while Riccio added three goals and an assist. Riccio tallied both the game-tying and -winning goals for AMC in the final 5:27.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 10 | Saint Joseph (CT) 9
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (3-12, 1-11 GNAC) | Saint Joseph (CT) (6-11, 4-9 GNAC)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Blue Jays came out on top of a back-and-forth first quarter, taking a 3-2 lead into the second 15 minutes. Raposo tallied both goals for the Falcons, with the first coming off an assist from Amanda McGeehan (Milford, Conn.).
Raposo was not done scoring after the first, as she netted the first three goals of the second. The senior posted three unassisted tallies in the first 7:19 of the second frame to give Albertus a 5-3 advantage by the 7:41 mark. USJ answered with back-to-back free-position goals to send the teams into the halftime break tied at 5-all.
The third quarter was the quietest of the game, as the two teams combined for just three goals. Riccio tallied her first of the evening 57 seconds into the stanza before two straight Blue Jay strikes gave the visitors a 7-6 advantage heading into the fourth.
After USJ kicked off the fourth with a goal, the Falcons began to claw their way back from an 8-6 deficit, making it an 8-7 game following an Alexandra Barrett (Northford, Conn.) goal at the 8:04 mark. However, the Blue Jays continued to chip away, scoring another two goals with 6:16 left on the clock before Emmalee Ianniello (Hamden, Conn.) cashed in on a Barrett pass to draw the margin to 9-8 with 6:06 remaining on the clock.
Riccio buried the first of her two crucial goals on a free-position attempt, while Albertus was a player up. The junior dove to the crease and faked high before sending a shot low by the opposing keeper's knees. This goal tied the game at 9-all with 5:27 left.
The game-winning goal was set up by outstanding defense, as McGeehan snagged a pass from the USJ keeper on a clear to give the home team possession. Riccio drove to the crease from the top of the arc with the ball, beating a defender before bouncing a goal into the back of the net.
The Falcons' defense held strong over the final 3:28 to secure the thrilling 10-9 victory at home. Chloe Oliver (Milford, Conn.) commanded a stellar defense all night, finishing with 18 saves on 27 shots to earn her third win as a rookie.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus - Chloe Oliver (W, 3-12): 9 Goals-Against | 18 Saves | 27 Shots on Goal
Saint Joseph - Nina Lestrud (L, 6-11): 10 Goals-Against | 14 Saves | 24 Shots on Goal
KEY PERFORMERS
Albertus:
Keegan Riccio : 3 goals | 1 assist | 6 shots on goal | 3 ground balls | 6 draw controls | 2 caused turnovers
Katherine Raposo: 5 goals | 8 shots on goal | 4 draw controls
Alexandra Barrett: 1 goal | 1 assist | 3 shots on goal | 7 ground balls | 3 draw controls | 3 caused turnovers
Saint Joseph:
Makenzie Dinger: 4 goals | 10 shots on goal | 2 ground balls | 1 draw controls | 2 caused turnovers
Ana Nogueira: 3 goals | 9 shots on goal | 2 ground balls | 4 draw controls | 4 caused turnovers
Morgan Rhoades: 1 goal | 2 shots on goal | 2 ground balls | 1 caused turnovers
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The Blue Jays held the slight edge in ground balls, 19-18.
- Albertus won the draw control battle 14-8.
- The Falcons picked up 18 saves to the Blue Jays' 14.
- Albertus held the advantage in shots, 33-32.
- The Blue Jays scored four free position shots to the Falcon's one.
NOTEWORTHY
- The Falcons are 3-4 all-time against Saint Joseph's University (CT) following tonight's win.
- Raposo tallied her ninth hat trick of the season.
- Riccio recorded her second hat trick of the season.
- Following tonight's game, Falcon's goaltender Oliver has 232 stops and is currently leading the GNAC in saves while being fourth in the conference in save percentage with a 52.8% mark.
- Oliver picked up her third win this season.
- Raposo is now seventh in the conference, with 50 goals following tonight's performance.
- Tonight's victory is the third of head coach Danielle Pannone's tenure at the helm of the Albertus Magnus women's lacrosse squad.
UP NEXT
The women's lacrosse team will close out its season with a road tilt against the Lasers of Lasell University on Thursday, April 28th. The opening face-off is set for 5 PM on Grellier Field in Newton, Mass.
