SCHENECTADY, NY – Freshman attack Kristin Joyce (Longmeadow, MA) scored three goals and added two assists as #8 Union College defeated Eastern University (PA), 15-4 in an NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse First Round playoff game at Frank Bailey Field Wednesday afternoon.
The Dutchwomen improved to 14-3 on the season, while the Eagles finish the year at 14-5. The Dutchwomen have now won six of the last seven games, and advance to the next round for the first time since 2006. Union will play Cortland State Saturday, May 10 in the regionals at The College of New Jersey at 2:30 p.m. Eastern had a seven game winning streak snapped. This was the sixth time this season that Union had allowed five or less goals in a game.
The Dutchwomen got two goals each from Freshman attack Chelsea Charette (South Hadley, MA) and sophomore midfielder Allie Cuozzo (Norfolk, MA) and seven other players scored a goal each. Keri Messa (Saratoga Springs, NY) and Caitlin Cuozzo (Norfolk, MA) each had two assists with a goal in the victory. Allie Cuozzo had five shots and three caused turnovers while coming up with four draw controls.
Union had a 29-19 shot advantage on the day, including 20-7 in the first half, and won 14 of 21 draw controls. The Dutchwomen caused 21 turnovers and converted on three of the four free position opportunities. Freshman goaltender Cat Ruggiero (Huntington, NY) made 13 saves, including eight in the second half, while Eastern netminder Kimberly Campbell (Malvern, PA) stopped 10 Union shots.
Junior midfielder Jessie Basch (Zionsville, IN) figured in on all four Eastern goals, scoring twice and assisting on two others, and took a game high 12 shots, including seven on net, for the Eagles.
Just 54 seconds into the game, Steph Egizi (Westwood, MA) put Union on the board with her 11th of the year on an assist by Caitlin Cuozzo, who had taken the opening draw control. At 24:24, Charette scored her first of the day on an unassisted score and at 21:17, Joyce took a pass from Messa for a 3-0 Union lead. The Dutchwomen took a 7-0 lead by scoring four times in a span of 2:47, starting with Allie Cuozzo's 25th at 14:47 and including goals by Charette (her 35th of the year), Jill LaForest (Acton, MA) and Joyce (which came at the 12:00 mark). Erin Reimel (Ephrata, PA) put the Eagles on the board at 10:51 on an assist by Basch. Caitlin Cuozzo notched her 21st of the year 15 seconds later, and after Erin Fries (Lancaster, PA) tallied #19 for Eastern at 5:39, Union scored twice in the final 31 seconds of the half on goals by Messa (her 33rd) and Kelley Flanagan (Madison, CT) and had a 10-2 lead at halftime.
Union scored the first four of the second half thanks to goals by Abbey Stohler (West Hartford, CT), Allie Cuozzo, Joyce's 50th and Shelby Cutter (Needham, MA). Basch scored at 6:10 and 4:17 for her 13th and 14th of the year before freshman Casey Dianni (Rye, NY) provided Union's 15th goal with 57 seconds left in the second half.
With the victory, Union has now won three times in NCAA history in this, the school's fifth year in the tournament. Union defeated Cortland, 9-8 in Schenectady on March 2. The Red Dragons, 14-5 and ranked 19th in this week's IWLCA poll, had a bye in the first round.
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